A patrol vessel donated by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to the Philippines would not be used in waters near Taiwan or areas where Taiwanese fishing vessels operate, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.
The vessel, formerly the CGA's 500-tonne-class Kinmen (金門), was commissioned into the Philippine Coast Guard on Oct. 2.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
Speaking at the Legislative Yuan, Cho said the Philippines had pledged during the donation process that the vessel would be used only for designated missions and would not operate in waters related to Taiwan.
The vessel could even provide assistance to Taiwan if needed, he added.
Responding to questions from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉) about past conflicts involving Taiwanese fishing vessels and the Philippine authorities, including the 2013 Guang Da Xing No. 28 (廣大興28號) incident in which a Taiwanese fisherman was killed, Cho said the incident offered important lessons.
He added that stronger and friendlier exchanges between the two sides could help prevent unnecessary conflicts.
Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said Taiwan and the Philippines had established mechanisms for law enforcement cooperation and emergency reporting on fisheries, while deepening their partnership in maritime humanitarian assistance.
The Philippines has demonstrated goodwill by establishing systematic communication and rapid coordination mechanisms to protect the safety of fishermen from both sides, Kuan said.
The CGA has also stationed a liaison officer at the Manila Economic and Cultural Office to maintain communication and reduce the risk of conflict during maritime law enforcement operations, she said, adding that the arrangement aims to prevent incidents like the Guang Da Xing case from recurring.
Kuan said this is not the first time Taiwan had transferred decommissioned vessels to another country, noting that such transfers have long served as a means of strengthening diplomatic and humanitarian ties.
Typhoon Champi is forecast to turn northward earlier than previously expected, sparing Taiwan a direct hit but still bringing heavy rain to the north of the country on Friday and Saturday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Typhoon Champi had strengthened and increased in size over the past 12 hours, and as of yesterday afternoon, was packing sustained winds of 198kph near its center, CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said. However, due to the weakening of a Pacific high-pressure system the storm is now expected to turn northward earlier than initially forecast, likely around Japan’s Ishigaki Island, Cheng said. As Champi brushes
A sea warning for Typhoon Champi might be issued tonight, while the storm’s trajectory would determine whether a land warning is to be issued tomorrow night, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Champi was about 1,536km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), packing maximum sustained winds of 198kph, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said. The storm was moving west-northwest at 23kph and was expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours before weakening slightly as it approaches cooler waters east of Taiwan, Tseng said. Champi is expected to turn north tomorrow, with the angle of the
DEFENSE PROCUREMENT: Taiwan could become the largest operator of V-BAT drones outside the US if the contract is finalized, the Ministry of National Defense said The navy and the coast guard reportedly plan to acquire 292 units of MQ-35A V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) surveillance drones. If the contract is awarded and finalized, it would make Taiwan one of the largest buyers of the uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the US-based defense technology company Shield AI. The Coast Guard Administration budgeted NT$1.2 billion (US$37.1 million) to buy 12 drones, which have been delivered, Shield AI said in a report on Oct 13. The navy is planning to spend NT$36 billion under a four-year program code-named Project Yuan Hsiao (遠鴞) to acquire 280 V-BAT drones,
A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy aircraft carrier group was being monitored after entering the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense said today, after Beijing yesterday criticized Taiwan for using a water cannon against a Chinese fishing boat near the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). A Chinese naval task group led by the aircraft carrier Liaoning (遼寧) yesterday sailed to the western Pacific for training, Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the PLA Navy as saying. “The drill is part of the annual routine training plan aimed at testing and improving the troops’ combat readiness and enhancing their ability to
RSS