The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said it would soon discuss with national security officials whether private ships from China which have participated in Chinese military exercises should be allowed to dock at Taiwan’s ports.
The issue came under scrutiny at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which was scheduled to review the budget plan of Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC), after a Hong Kong-flagged ship that had joined exercises of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was found to have docked at Taichung Port for five days last week.
The ship, SCSC Fortune (長和輪), was reported to have accommodated at least six assault boats in the cargo hold during a Chinese military exercise in 2022.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
Lawmakers questioned Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) about the national security ramifications of the incident and what the ministry would do to address them.
The civilian ship’s interior design must have been renovated to carry PLA special operations unit members during the military drills, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said.
Such a modification would allow unit members to launch surprise attacks at Taiwan’s ports, Hsien said.
The PLA would surely draft such ships if China attempted to take Taiwan by force, and the ministry should board the ship and conduct an inspection as per Article 58 of the Commercial Port Act (商港法), he said.
DPP Legislator Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純) said the transportation ministry, and defense and national security officials should have a platform to share intelligence so that the ministry can be made aware of the vessels that could pose a national security threat in advance.
Chen said that SCSC Fortune was allowed to dock at the port as per Article 7 the act, and the shipowner’s agent in their written application said the ship carried parts and components.
Neither TIPC nor the Maritime and Port Bureau knew that the ship had taken part in the PLA’s military exercises, he said.
“We are to meet with national security officials within one week to discuss whether these ships should be allowed to dock at Taiwanese ports,” Chen said.
Amending regulations might be necessary if such ships are to be banned from docking at Taiwanese ports, he said, adding that they might need a different type of inspection.
His ministry can only board a ship and conduct inspections if it has information that the ship is engaged in suspicious activities, Chen said.
Such information must be provided by national security agencies, he added.
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