The Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed on Tuesday that it would organize a summer camp on the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), a program under its annual military summer camps.
The status of the Nansha Camp, to be held on Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島), had been uncertain because of ongoing disputes over sovereignty of islands in the South China Sea, with claims by Taiwan, China and the Philippines, among others.
The camps are aimed at university students to let them gain a better understanding of the country’s South China Sea policy, said Lisa Chi (池玉蘭), head of the General Political Warfare Bureau’s Cultural and Political Division.
The Nansha Camp this year is open to university students majoring in political science, foreign affairs, marine ecology and environmental issues.
Of the 10 types of camps open this year, most people opted for the Kinmen military combat camp, parachute training camp and the Penghu military combat camp, according to ministry statistics.
Most of the camps are only open to university and high school students, while two of them — the armored-vehicle experience camp and the science camp — are open to junior-high school students.
This year, the ministry selected 2,910 candidates out of 7,341 who applied to take part in the annual camps.
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