Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) will conduct a joint maritime rescue drill this week with its Chinese counterpart, the first time the coastal patrol agencies on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are to hold joint marine exercises.
According to the CGA, it will hold the drill with China’s Maritime Search and Rescue Center in waters off southeastern China, between Taiwan’s Kinmen and the Chinese city of Xiamen.
Boats and aircraft from Taiwan and China will simulate the collision of two ships on the Kinmen-Xiamen route — one of the busiest areas in the Taiwan Strait — and try to save “passengers” that fall into the sea, the CGA said.
The CGA will send nine patrol boats, including a 500-tonne patrol vessel, and helicopters to Kinmen for the joint drill.
To avoid unnecessary political disputes, the two sides have decided that all participating vessels and rescue teams will only carry flags that symbolize the joint drill, CGA officials said.
They underlined that the drill was being held for the sole purpose of preparing for possible accidents in the Taiwan Strait.
Commenting on the landmark cross-strait marine drill, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said he supports the way Taiwan and China have defined marine rescue as “a humanitarian practice.”
“We must recognize China’s conduct” to help save Taiwanese fishing boats from difficulties while operating in waters in the Taiwan Strait, he said.
However, Huang also questioned whether Chinese ships should be permitted to sail across the median line of the strait into Taiwan’s waters in the future if a marine accident happens on Taiwan’s side of the strait.
“It needs to be discussed,” he said.
On Thursday, former deputy defense minister Lin Chong-pin (林中斌) said that although the participants in the rescue drill are not from the military, he sees the event as a “positive signal” in the two sides’ pursuit of mutual military trust.
Lin, now a professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, saw the upcoming marine drill as a sign that Taiwan and China have finally begun to pay attention to the long-term need for a joint capability in handling marine accidents in the Taiwan Strait.
The drill may be the first between the two central government’s coast guards, but joint exercises have taken place at the local level.
In October 2008, the Kinmen County Government dispatched ships and rescue personnel to conduct a joint marine rescue drill with a similar patrol squad from Xiamen.
Kinmen County Commissioner Li Wo-shi (李沃士) in June urged the two sides to establish a cross-strait marine accident rescue mechanism as soon as possible because of the fast pace at which transport services between Kinmen and Xiamen are growing.
Lee said 1.28 million traveled between the two destinations by boat last year, adding the volume is expected to rise this year.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost