Staff at the Republic of China embassy in Palau are to be screened in the coming days, after 24 navy personnel from a “Friendship Flotilla” that visited the nation last month tested positive for COVID-19, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday as lawmakers pressed the government to help Palau test its people.
The 24 are all crew members from the supply ship Panshih (磐石) that was part of the three-vessel flotilla, which visited Palau from March 12 to 15, the Central Epidemic Command Center has said.
During yesterday’s meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) asked about the health of Ambassador to Palau Wallace Chow (周民淦) and the rest of the embassy staff.
Photo taken from Ambassador to Palau Wallace Chow’s Facebook page
Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Director-General Baushuan Ger (葛葆萱) said that all embassy personnel were reported to be in sound health, but that the ministry would screen them for COVID-19 in the next few days.
The Palauan Ministry of Health was making similar arrangements, he added.
Shin Kong Wu Ho-su Memorial Hospital has been working with Palau’s government since April 9 on COVID-19 testing, and all the tests as of the middle of the month were negative, he said.
Chao said the ministry should suggest to Palau that all Palauan officials who had contact with Taiwanese officials and navy personnel during the ships’ visit be screened.
DPP Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said that the government should send a medical team to Palau to help it with testing.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) said he would convey the suggestion to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and they would review the possibilities.
Palauan Minister of Health Emais Roberts yesterday said that the government would stay in touch with Taiwan during its investigation into the outbreak, which was most likely a “ship cluster” contained within the ship.
More than a month had passed since the ships visited, he said, and no one in Palau has tested positive or shown any symptoms of the disease.
“There is little chance that the virus on the vessels came from Palau,” he said in a statement. “There is no reason for us in Palau to panic.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
RSS