Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) on Monday said that US and Chinese naval ships had sailed within 12 nautical miles (22.22km) of Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), contradicting earlier statements by the coast guard.
Media have reported that the vessels on Nov. 3 passed near Itu Aba, the largest of the South China Sea Spratly Islands.
Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) in a Facebook post on Nov. 6 said that no foreign vessels had encroached on the island’s territorial waters.
Photo: Reuters
A week later, Jia Chih-kuo (賈治國), deputy head of the Coast Guard Administration’s patrol, reiterated the denial at a news conference held by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) accusing the coast guard of lying about the intrusions.
During a session of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee on Monday, Chen asked Chiu whether the military had detected the vessels, adding that foreign media had satellite evidence of the transit.
Chiu confirmed that the military had detected the vessels on both radar and satellite.
Lieutenant General Liu Pei-chih (劉沛智), deputy chief of the General Staff for personnel, said that the US and Chinese vessels were sailing near each other, adding that “we really do have a handle on it.”
Chen again accused the coast guard of lying, saying that officials assured him that the vessels had only sailed within 13 nautical miles, not within the 12-nautical-mile boundary.
The military cannot make any concessions on national sovereignty, as failing to protest could enable other claimants to cite the legal principle of estoppel in preventing Taiwan from acting against what it did before, he said.
“Protecting sovereignty is our responsibility,” Chiu said. “Radar did indeed detect [the vessels], contrary to the coast guard.”
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
RSS