President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen told reporters in Taichung County yesterday that it was his presidential duty to review troops and his trip to Taiping Island (
"As the nation's leader, shouldn't I visit troops on behalf of the people and give them our regards?" he said.
Chen visited Taiwan's military forces stationed on Taiping Island on Saturday. He also inspected an airstrip that was recently completed to facilitate maritime rescue work.
In his speech at the opening ceremony for the airstrip, Chen proposed a "Spratly Initiative," calling for countries in the South China Sea area to set aside sovereignty disputes and cooperate with each other to protect the Spratly's environment and resources.
Chen is the first president from Taiwan to set foot on the biggest atoll of the Spratly chain. His low-profile visit was largely seen as a move to assert a sovereignty claim.
Late last month, the Presidential Office denied that Chen was planning to visit the Spratly Islands for the sole purpose of raising the profile of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
The Presidential Office said it is a tradition for the president to visit military camps ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill to enhance cooperation with Taiwan on drone development and to reduce reliance on supply chains linked to China. The proposed Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026 was introduced by Republican US senators Ted Cruz and John Curtis, and Democratic US senators Jeff Merkley and Andy Kim. The legislation seeks to ease constraints on Taiwan-US cooperation in uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including dependence on China-sourced components, limited access to capital and regulatory barriers under US export controls, a news release issued by Cruz on Wednesday said. The bill would establish a "Blue UAS
The Republic of China Army Command yesterday relieved Kinmen Defense Battalion commander after authorities indicted the officer on charges connected to using methamphetamine. The Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday detained Colonel He (何) after the Coast Guard linked him to drug shipments and proceeded to charge him yesterday for using and possessing crystal meth. The man was released on a NT$50,000 bail and banned from leaving Kinmen, the office said. Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) told a news conference yesterday that He has been removed and another officer is taking over the unit as the acting commander. The military
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