The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said that it would continue to push for its plan to inspect the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) after the Ministry of National Defense canceled a planned visit citing insufficient review time.
The KMT said that the cancelation was politically motivated.
KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍), convener of the Internal Administration Committee, on Saturday last week announced that the committee planned to inspect the islands yesterday to boost the morale of Coast Guard Administration personnel stationed there.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The ministry said it disallowed the trip because there was not enough time between the official request Chen sent to the ministry and the planned date of the visit.
KMT Legislator Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said there have been six visits, four to the Pratas Islands and two to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) in as many years, indicating that such visits are commonplace.
The KMT is willing to wait for the ministry to complete its “due procedures” and will continue to apply to visit the Pratas Islands, Lin said.
Chen yesterday accused Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) of leaking classified material by posting video clips on Facebook of an aerial view of the Pratas Islands during a visit on May 24, 2018.
There is disproportionate distrust of the KMT, whose visits are considered a risk of leaks of classified information, whereas Wang’s actions received no criticism, Chen said.
Wang repeated comments from Wednesday, saying that such trips are not a walk in the park to be taken at any time.
Chen should look up the definition of “classified,” he said, adding that his videos, an aerial shot of the sea, were not “secrets.”
Meanwhile, the Ocean Affairs Council said that coast guard personnel should not worry about outside factors so they can focus on their duties.
As for the summer camp event that Wang attended, it was a collaborative effort that had run since 2011, with students attending ecological conservation courses, the council said.
The cameras on personal devices of all who attended were covered with special stickers, which reduced the chances of classified material being leaked, it said.
While the council has jurisdiction over the islands, the ministry has control over visits, as the Pratas, like the Spratley Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), are restricted areas.
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