Taiwan’s naval goodwill fleet last week concluded port calls in Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is now headed toward Belize, Taiwanese embassies in the region said.
The fleet, officially designated as the 2026 Midshipmen and Cruising Training Squadron (MCTS), first arrived in Saint Lucia on April 12 for a three-day visit, Taiwan’s embassy in the country wrote on Facebook.
Two of the three vessels in the fleet — fast combat support ship the ROCS Panshih (磐石, AOE-532) and Kang Ding-class guided-missile frigate the ROCS Di Hua (迪化, PFG-1206) — were on Monday last week opened to the public, drawing about 2,000 visitors, the embassy said.
Photo: Screen grab from the Facebook page of the Taiwanese embassy in Saint Lucia
The third vessel, Cheng Kung-class guided-missile frigate the ROCS Yueh Fei (岳飛, PFG-1106), was not opened to the public.
Saint Lucian Minister of External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs Alva Baptiste, along with other Saint Lucian officials, joined more than 800 officers and crew members of the fleet at a welcoming ceremony on Monday last week.
The importance of the visit “cannot be overstated, as it underscores our shared commitment to global stability and the promotion of peace in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape,” Baptiste said in an address.
The MCTS concluded its visit on Tuesday last week, before heading to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where it arrived the same day for a three-day visit.
The fleet was welcomed by Vincentian Deputy Prime Minister St Clair Leacock.
The fleet is set to visit Belize, where a formal welcoming ceremony is to be held on Wednesday, the embassy in Belize said.
The port call will mark the first visit by the MCTS to Belize in 13 years, it said.
The fleet departed Taiwan in late February for its annual training voyage, which typically includes visits to diplomatic allies in the Caribbean and Latin America.
For security reasons, Taiwan’s military does not publicize the fleet’s full itinerary.
Before visiting Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the fleet made a port call in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The three countries and Haiti are the four Caribbean states that formally recognize the Republic of China. Belize is one of two Central American countries that formally recognize Taiwan, the other being Guatemala.
The fleet’s annual mission is to promote diplomacy, demonstrate its military capabilities and engage with overseas Taiwanese communities, the military said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS