As search-and-rescue personnel prepare for drills this month in the contested South China Sea, a debate has emerged between legislators who praise the “peaceful” rescue operations and those who call for increased military activity.
The Coast Guard Administration later this month is to stage joint rescue operation drills with the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Search and Rescue Center on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), the biggest feature of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which has been administered by Taiwan since 1956 and is also claimed by China, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The drills are to include practice of ship rescue operations, video-based remote medical treatment and the evacuation of injured people.
The government said it would invite domestic and international journalists to interview rescue personnel on the island to demonstrate the search-and-rescue team’s functions, as well as assert the nation’s sovereignty over Itu Aba.
According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, the drills are aimed at demonstrating the team’s effectiveness at carrying out ship rescue operations, which entail a search of a designated area at sea, transport of injured people to Itu Aba’s Nansha Hospital and then transport by fixed-wing aircraft back to Taiwan.
The drills are to be joined by a 3,000-tonne Kaohsiung-class coast guard ship, the navy’s AOE-532 Panshih fast combat support ship and an air force C-130 Hercules turboprop transport aircraft, the sources said.
As for live-fire drills originally scheduled for late last month, they have been delayed until next month after typhoons interrupted the plans, armed forces and coast guard spokespeople said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said he believes that the rescue drills are a greater priority for Itu Aba, adding that the island could serve a more peaceful purpose rather than escalating regional tensions.
“The drills are a pledge to the world that Taiping Island will be used peacefully as a center for search-and-rescue operations,” Lo said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) said that Taiwan must be firm and resolute in defending its sovereignty over contested islands, adding that aside from rescue drills, other suitable actions should be taken depending on the situation.
In light of rising tensions in the South China Sea, KMT Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲) on Thursday last week proposed at a legislative budget review that the government send marines to Itu Aba, which has been defended by the coast guard since 2000.
The nation cannot falter in its “determination to defend its territory,” Lu said.
However, the Ministry of National Defense said that it is a matter of national policy whether to station a garrison on the island, adding that the only possible course of action at the moment would be to increase coast guard patrols.
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