DEFENSE
Chinese aircraft enter ADIZ
Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) yesterday for the eighth consecutive day. The mission involved four People’s Liberation Army aircraft, a Ministry of National Defense report said. The air force responded by scrambling planes to monitor the Chinese aircraft, issuing radio warnings and mobilizing air defense systems until the aircraft left the area, the ministry said. The number of Chinese warplanes flying into Taiwan’s ADIZ has increased after China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier group sailed south through the Miyako Strait on Saturday last week.
DIPLOMACY
Honduras ties hailed
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday thanked Honduras for its international support of Taiwan in a video message marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries on Friday. Calling Honduras “a staunch ally of Taiwan,” Tsai in a video released online by the Presidential Office highlighted growing trade relations with the Central American country, adding that Honduras is the main source of whiteleg shrimp sold in Taiwan. Apart from trade, Tsai said the nations are mutually supportive allies. “Taiwan has stood with Honduras to address the global [COVID-19] pandemic and hurricane relief, donating supplies and sharing experiences that helped us overcome these challenges together” in the past year, she said.
SOCIETY
New monkeys arrive at zoo
Black howlers and golden-headed lion tamarins, both species native to South America, have arrived at the Taipei Zoo for the first time, the zoo said on Friday. Two male golden-headed tamarins and three male black howlers were on Wednesday brought from the Singapore Zoo through the European Endangered Species Programme. The Taipei Zoo is a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. The monkeys are undergoing a month of quarantine, the zoo said, adding that the zoo would give them time to adapt to their new home before exhibiting them to the public. The golden-headed tamarin is an endangered species native to the Atlantic coastal forests of Brazil. There are fewer than 150 golden-headed tamarins in the wild, as their primary habitat in the forest of Bahia, Brazil, has been significantly reduced due to farming, ranching, mining and urbanization, the zoo said.
AGRICULTURE
Farmind eyes pineapples
Japanese produce distributor Farmind is planning to sell Taiwanese pineapples in 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan this year, the Council of Agriculture’s Department of International Affairs said. During a videoconference with council Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) on Friday, Farmind president and CEO Tatsuo Horiuchi said his company plans to buy 3,000 tonnes of pineapples this year, some of which would be sold in 7-Elevens, department head Lin Chia-jung (林家榮) said. The first shipment of pineapples Farmind received from Taiwan this year are destined for Japanese supermarkets, Lin said. Because 80 percent of Japanese consumers prefer to buy cut fruit, Horiuchi said that Farmind intends to explore this market segment with Taiwanese pineapples later this year, the department said. If the plan does go ahead, it would be the first time Taiwanese pineapples are sold through convenience stores in Japan, Lin said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard