Taiwan is in talks with “certain countries” to conduct a joint humanitarian exercise within the Taiwan Strait to combat China’s “gray zone” tactics and legal warfare, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) yesterday asked what the coast guard is doing to address the force disparity in the Taiwan Strait when Beijing disguises Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy warships as part of the China Coast Guard.
Wang also asked what options the CGA have regarding Chinese ships stopping Taiwanese ships for inspections, and the possibility of improving such measures.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
Instituting a maritime lockdown would be considered an act of war, Hsieh said, adding that the coast guard is working closely with intelligence units and the navy to provide safe passage for Taiwanese ships.
The coast guard is prioritizing the protection of Taiwanese ships first, and extending protection to foreign ships sailing near Taiwan within a 24 nautical mile (44.4km) range, he said.
The CGA is mulling the possibility of developing air support, especially long-range reconnaissance capabilities, which would provide the service with much-needed time to react to Chinese incursions, he added.
Wang suggested that the best way to combat China’s “gray zone” tactics and legal warfare was to give China a taste of its own medicine by working with the US, Japan, the Philippines and Australia, and hosting a joint humanitarian rescue exercise in the Taiwan Strait.
Hsieh said that the coast guard and Ministry of Foreign Affairs are already in related talks with “certain nations.”
“It is true that rescues know no borders,” he said.
Separately, the CGA’s Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu branch dispatched four ships yesterday to monitor four China Coast Guard ships detected around Kinmen County while broadcasting messages for the Chinese ships to leave.
The four Chinese ships, bearing pennant numbers 14605, 14604, 14608 and 14521, sailed into restricted waters near Kinmen from the east and west, the CGA said.
The ships had left the area by 5pm, it said.
The CGA said there were 71 recorded incidents of Chinese ships’ incursions into the Kinmen area, and the branch is stepping up monitoring efforts, and hopes to increase deployment and reaction times to such incidents.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS