Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday.
A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.”
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
“Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the US’] consistent interests and is crucial to regional and global security and prosperity,” the spokesperson said in response to media queries.
China began regular coast guard patrols around Kinmen and Xiamen, China, following the deaths of two Chinese who fled from CGA personnel after their boat had entered prohibited waters near Kinmen on Feb. 14.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office firmly supported the measure.
“Taiwan is part of China. The China Coast Guard’s patrols in the waters near Kinmen are a legitimate move to maintain the order of maritime operations,” it said.
In Taiwan, academics have called on the CGA to regularly deploy a larger vessel in waters near Kinmen in response to the China Coast Guard’s harassment.
After establishing “regular law enforcement” in waters near Kinmen, the China Coast Guard might turn its focus to the east of the Strait’s median line, National Policy Foundation associate research fellow Chieh Chung (揭仲) said on Saturday.
Taiwan should continue to maintain its authority in the Strait and waters near Kinmen, he said, adding that when encountering China Coast Guard vessels, CGA personnel should follow the necessary procedures without provoking conflict.
The “gray zone” tactics adopted by Beijing are troublesome, because it would be inappropriate to send the navy to intervene in incidents related to the China Coast Guard, as it is not the Chinese navy, Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) said.
Most of the CGA vessels deployed near Kinmen are small or medium-sized, and might not be able to deal with 8,000-tonne China Coast Guard vessels, he said.
He suggested renovating facilities in Kinmen for the development of one or two larger vessels.
Chieh agreed with the assessment, saying that most CGA vessels deployed in the area are about 100 tonnes.
It is easier for Chinese vessels to enter waters near Kinmen than to cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait as they are closer to China, he said.
As such, Taiwan should regularly deploy a large coast guard patrol vessel in the area, Chieh said, adding that if it does not have space to dock, it should be kept on standby near Kinmen as a deterrent.
The CGA could consider using the Ching Chiang (錦江艦) — a 700-tonne vessel that the navy is no longer using — if it is still functioning well, Shu said.
Chieh also called on the government to make public the movement of China Coast Guard vessels whenever appropriate.
The armed forces could provide intelligence to the government so that it could predict the course of Chinese vessels and dispatch personnel in advance, he said.
The air force’s E-2 Hawkeye all-weather early-warning aircraft would be of great help in providing information to the CGA, as it can view the Strait from eastern Taiwan, he added.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS