The National Security Bureau yesterday revealed it was monitoring plans for the US-Japan joint military exercise, which intends to use two islets that form part of the Diaoyutai group claimed by Taiwan as missile ranges this year.
"The [US-Japan] military exercise has chosen Huangwei Islet (
"We are looking closely at the development of this matter, but we might be unable to do anything, Hsueh said in response to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Joanna Lei's (雷倩) comment that the government should take a hardline approach when it comes to issues involving the country's sovereignty.
Hsueh said the Huangwei Islet and Chihwei Islet are two of the bigger islets in the Diaoyutai group.
The US is planning to carry out a series of major naval exercises in the Pacific this summer that will bring together the biggest armada of US aircraft carriers in more than a decade.
The US naval officials had said four carriers will be involved in the three exercises, which will be held in June, July and August. The July exercise will involve ships from Japan and other countries.
The large-scale exercises are seen as a safeguard against a potential conflict with China.
US naval officials had said that it's important for US forces to know more about the environment where enemy submarines might operate or where ballistic missiles might be located and develop the skills necessary to counter the threat.
The waters between Taiwan and Japan are seen as locations that China might use to block the US Navy from entering the East China Sea with its submarines.
Lei said in the meeting that although the government has temporarily set the coast guard's patrol line at 124km off the coast, Japan has never recognized this in its series of fishery talks with Taiwan.
That is why when the Suao-based Hsing-tungchuan No 68 ventured 37km northwest off the disputed Diaoyutai -- which was still within the Taiwanese coast guard's patrol line and not Japanese waters -- was detained by Japan last Saturday.
Hsueh said that the conflict with Japan has not been restricted to the Diaoyutai, but has extended to the islet of Okinotorishima.
The islet recently became a point of contention for Taiwan's fishermen operating near the island, as they have been continuously driven away by Japanese ships for trespassing into Japan's "exclusive economic zone."
Taiwanese fishing boats from Ilan's Suao harbor have long been harassed by the Japanese coast guard.
The islet of Okinotorishima lies halfway between Guam and Taiwan, roughly 1,600km from Taiwan and 1,700km south of Tokyo.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
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