A Philippine military spokesman yesterday said alleged plans by the Taiwanese military to deploy surface-to-air missiles on Taiping Island (太平島) in the South China Sea could fuel tensions in the region and be seen as an act of aggression by other claimants to a series of disputed islets.
Calling the move “unsettling” and “uncalled for,” Philippine Defense Department spokesman Zosimo Paredes said how other countries in the region would react to what he saw as an “out of the ordinary” move by Taiwan remained to be seen.
Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) on Wednesday gave signs he supported a proposal by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to deploy the Air Force’s Antelope air defense system — a derivative of the indigenous Tien Chien I “Sky Sword” (天劍一, TC-1) air-to-air missile used on the CK-1 Indigenous Defense Fighter — or the US-made M48A2 “Chaparral” on Taiping.
As the Chaparral is an aging system, the Antelope, developed by the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, is a likelier candidate. According to Jane’s Defence Weekly, the Antelope, which carries four modified TC-1 missiles per unit, has a range of 9,000m and a maximum altitude of 3,000m.
Kao said the ministry would be amenable to such a deployment, provided it received a request from the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), which since 1999 has overseen Taiwan’s claims to Taiping.
Coast Guard Administration Minister Wang Ginn-wang (王進旺) told the legislature last week that his agency and the ministry had launched a two-month combat readiness evaluation for Taiping earlier this month.
Wang said a decision on deploying additional personnel or acquiring advanced weaponry would be made following the evaluation.
At present, the CGA relies mostly on machine guns to defend the island, on which Taiwan completed construction of a 1,150m airstrip in 2008, sparking protest from some regional claimants.
In his question-and-answer session with Kao, Lin singled out the Philippines and Vietnam as the nation’s principal adversaries in the region, while not mentioning China.
Paredes, who said Manila was prepared to “defend to the hilt” islets it already occupied in the Spratly Islands (南沙群島), nevertheless attempted to play down the significance of the news.
“That’s their [Taiwan] own prerogative. Should they want to do that, nobody can stop them, but they should not encroach into other interests so that peace will prevail,” he said.
“If they are just to protect their own interests there is no problem, I don’t see any problem there,” he said, calling Taiwan “a friend” of the Philippines and asking Taipei to coordinate its moves with neighboring countries.
Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China, the Philippines and Malaysia lay claim to all or parts of the Spratlys, which are believed to sit on important oil and natural gas reserves.
Reacting to news of the possible missile deployment, the US on Friday appealed for calm and called on all claimants to avoid sparking an arms buildup.
“We encourage all claimants to resolve their disputes through peaceful means, in accordance with international law and without resorting to the threat or use of force,” US Department of Defense spokesman George Little told reporters in Washington.
Additional reporting by AFP
Three cases of Candida auris, a fungus that can cause a yeast infection known as candidiasis in humans, have been reported in Taiwan over the past few years, but they did not display drug resistance, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said yesterday. Lo made the statement at a news conference in Taipei, one day after the Washington Post reported that the potentially deadly fungus is spreading in US hospitals. The fungus was first discovered in Japan in 2009 and poses a danger to immunocompromised people, with an estimated mortality rate of 30 to 60 percent, Lo
‘DIRE’: Taiwan would not engage in ‘dollar diplomacy,’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, after China reportedly offered Honduras up to US$3 billion to establish relations The government yesterday recalled its ambassador to Honduras after the Central American nation sent its foreign minister to China, signaling that it would sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Suspicions concerning ties with Honduras are rife after Honduran President Xiomara Castro on Tuesday last week wrote on Twitter that her country would pursue diplomatic ties with China. Honduran Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduardo Enrique Reina traveled to China on Wednesday “to promote efforts for the establishment of diplomatic relations” on instructions from Castro, Reuters yesterday quoted Honduran presidential spokesman Ivis Alvarado as saying. The government “has decided to immediately recall the ambassador to Honduras
‘NOTHING NEW’: China should not use Tsai Ing-wen’s transits through the US as a pretext to step up aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait, a Washington official said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to stop over in the US on her way to and from Central America next week, but her administration would not confirm a meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Tsai’s delegation is to leave Taipei on Wednesday next week and stop over in New York City, Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) told a news conference yesterday. Tsai is then to head to Guatemala on Saturday next week for talks with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and to meet with Taiwanese expatriates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. On April 3, Tsai is scheduled to travel
MEDIA, SOCIETY FOCUS: Doublethink Lab said that Beijing is trying to coerce countries that rely on China economically to pursue policies in its favor China has stronger influence over Taiwan’s media and society than any other country, the Taipei-based Doublethink Lab think tank said yesterday, as it announced its China Index gauging Beijing’s global influence. Taiwan ranked 11th overall among 82 countries assessed, but first in terms of social and media influence, Doublethink Lab chairman Puma Shen (沈伯洋) told a news conference in Taipei. More than 200 experts and academics participated in the project, including some highly influential figures, Shen said. The index collects information from countries worldwide to gauge China’s influence and assess how Chinese policies affect them, Shen said. In terms of Chinese
RSS