A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker yesterday accused the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of blocking a planned trip by lawmakers to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), but a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker said that the fault lay with the trip’s organizer.
KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍), convener of the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Administration Committee, had announced on Saturday last week that the group planned to make an inspection visit to the Pratas Islands, but the trip was canceled yesterday on the grounds that there was not enough time between the official statement that Chen sent to the ministry and the date of the visit.
Chen yesterday accused the ministry of obstructing the trip by exploiting a technicality.
Photo: Lin Liang-sheng, Taipei Times
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) had made arrangements for the trip, but the ministry told the committee that the inspection should be classified and its excuse that there was not enough time to prepare for the visit bordered on inefficiency, she said.
The committee was more than willing to comply with the ministry’s request that the trip be classified, and the committee’s request to visit the islands was the same as previous requests and had been submitted within the same six-day timeframe, she said.
The ministry’s rationale for canceling the trip did not stand up to scrutiny, as an Ocean Affairs Council summer camp for college students in the Dongsha Islands recently took place, said Chen, who represents Kinmen County.
DPP Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) disputed Chen’s timeframe claims, writing on Facebook that she had not submitted her request to the ministry until Tuesday.
He had asked the ministry about Chen’s trip request and was told that the air force had only received the request on Tuesday, so it had to decline the visit due to insufficient preparation time, Wang said.
Ministry spokesperson Major General Shih Shun-wen (史順文) said the ministry would provide any help the committee needs to facilitate the visit, and had given it maps and a briefing on the political situation.
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