The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to legislation governing ships, ports, meteorological facilities and telecommunications following the Executive Yuan’s push to update the nation’s undersea-cable laws.
The changes to the Shipping Act (船舶法), Meteorological Act (氣象法), Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法) and Commercial Port Act (商港法) are aimed at strengthening protections for submarine cables, which the government said could pose a threat to national security if cut or otherwise damaged.
The amendments to the Shipping Act require Taiwanese vessels and certain foreign vessels operating within the nation’s territorial waters and designated prohibited waters to keep their automatic identification system (AIS) functioning normally and transmit accurate vessel identification information.
Photo: CNA
Taiwanese vessels required to install AIS must correctly transmit their names, International Maritime Organization (IMO) ship identification numbers, Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) codes and vessel call signs while at sea or anchored, the updated law stipulates.
Non-Taiwanese vessels operating in Taiwanese waters and designated prohibited waters are also required to display correct vessel names and IMO ship identification numbers on their hulls, and those markings may not be damaged, altered or concealed, it says.
In addition, non-Taiwanese vessels of 150 gross tonnage or more must maintain logbooks that accurately record navigation activities and any accidents, it says.
Contraventions of the Shipping Act provisions may result in fines of NT$30,000 to NT$10 million (US$953 to US$317,713) imposed on the vessel owner or captain.
The changes to the Meteorological Act introduce penalties for negligently damaging or illegally endangering the normal functioning of meteorological facilities and equipment.
Such offenses are punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine of up to NT$2 million under the updated act.
The amendments further allow for confiscation of tools, vessels or other machinery involved in such crimes, regardless of ownership.
The amendments to the Telecommunications Management Act authorize confiscation of tools, vessels and machinery used to steal, damage or otherwise illegally endanger equipment relating to undersea cables, including undersea cable landing points and satellite communication centers.
Under the revised Commercial Port Act, vessels moored in a commercial port area that obstruct berth allocation or port area safety may be ordered to leave the port within three months.
If a vessel fails to comply with relocation or departure orders without legitimate reason, authorities may confiscate the vessel.
Furthermore, foreign merchant vessels detained for serious violations may be confiscated if discrepancies in vessel registration, vessel certificates or other identification information are not corrected within three months, it says.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about 1,900 as
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
MORE RESPONSIBILITY: Draftees would be expected to fight alongside professional soldiers, likely requiring the transformation of some training brigades into combat units The armed forces are to start incorporating new conscripts into combined arms brigades this year to enhance combat readiness, the Executive Yuan’s latest policy report said. The new policy would affect Taiwanese men entering the military for their compulsory service, which was extended to one year under reforms by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022. The conscripts would be trained to operate machine guns, uncrewed aerial vehicles, anti-tank guided missile launchers and Stinger air defense systems, the report said, adding that the basic training would be lengthened to eight weeks. After basic training, conscripts would be sorted into infantry battalions that would take
GROWING AMBITIONS: The scale and tempo of the operations show that the Strait has become the core theater for China to expand its security interests, the report said Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have surged nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs. Sorties in the Taiwan Strait were previously irregular, totaling 380 in 2020, but have since evolved into routine operations, the report showed. “This demonstrates that the Taiwan Strait has become both the starting point and testing ground for Beijing’s expansionist ambitions,” it said. Driven by military expansionism, China is systematically pursuing actions aimed at altering the regional “status quo,” the department said, adding that Taiwan represents the most critical link in China’s
RSS