Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday.
Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said.
A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng River (後坑溪) in New Taipei City last week ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival, both claiming to be defecting to Taiwan.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
When the CGA was founded, five maritime volunteer teams had been established across Taiwan proper and Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with 186 volunteers, a coast guard official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
As Beijing has been sending warplanes and vessels to harass Taiwan at its borders, making the cross-strait situation volatile, the volunteers can function as “maritime scouts” and report the discovery of unidentified ships in Taiwan’s territorial waters to the authorities, they said.
The recruitment of more maritime volunteers would help compensate for radar systems’ limited capabilities in detecting unlawful entries, especially before the construction of advanced detection technology is completed, the official said, adding that many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols.
The CGA has five branches set up for northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan, as well as Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, collectively overseeing 159 inspection offices, most of which are located at commercial ports, fishing ports or busy estuaries, they said.
In addition to the 12 ocean service stations established in 2021, the inspection offices would also be used to incorporate a 35-person coastal patrol volunteer team, the official said.
The administration said it expects to build a coastal patrol “army” of 6,000 volunteers, with a structure of squadrons, groups and corps established for management, they said.
The volunteers would assist in preventing “gray zone” conflicts and reporting illegal behavior, such as stowaways, smuggling, illegal electrofishing or blast fishing, the official said.
They would also drive a boat or join a patrol ship to help with search-and-rescue operations or marine debris removal in line with the Ocean Affairs Council’s humanitarian aid policy and sustainable ocean plans, they added.
While the CGA plans to reinforce coastal defense by recruiting more patrol volunteers, analyses of unlawful entry incidents and stowaway cases have shown that Taiwan must bolster its self-defense no matter what an intruder’s true intentions are, the official said.
In addition to infrared thermal cameras and uncrewed aircraft, an automatic identification system (AIS) should be mandatorily installed on small ships weighing less than 20 tonnes to increase their identifiability and distinguish them from foreign vessels, they said, adding that the coast guard has been discussing the issue with other agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
However, more communication is needed as most fishers might not be willing to install an AIS on their ships, a fisher said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The fishing industry is highly competitive and fisheries are considered business secrets, they said, adding that a whole year’s income could be affected if they are revealed to competitors.
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
RSS