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Navy, CGA to hold
joint drills this week
READY: Taiwan’s naval forces are more than a
match for the Philippines’, a defense official said, adding that coast guard
patrols are authorized to use force when attacked
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
A Coast Guard Administration
crewman waves at naval vessels as they jointly patrol waters south of Taiwan
yesterday.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
The Ministry of National Defense and the
Coast Guard Administration (CGA) will hold a joint military exercise in the
overlapping waters of Taiwan and the Philippines this week, Deputy Minister of
National Defense Andrew Yang (楊念祖) said yesterday.
Taiwan’s naval forces are more than a match for the Philippine Navy, Yang said,
amid a dispute over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by personnel aboard a
Philippine Coast Guard vessel on Thursday last week.
“We without a doubt have adequate forces [against the Philippines],” he said.
Yang told lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and
National Defense Committee that the ministry may hold a large-scale military
exercise with the CGA this month. He did not elaborate.
Lawmakers threw their support behind the planned exercise as they adopted a
resolution demanding that the drill utilize the coast guard’s 2,000-tonne
Hsinbei vessel, the first CGA patrol boat equipped with a 40mm anti-aircraft
cannon, as well as navy destroyers and frigates.
The combined exercise would be held in waters about 164 nautical miles (304km)
southeast of the southernmost tip of Taiwan, where the 15-tonne Taiwanese
fishing boat Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 was attacked by a Philippine Coast Guard
vessel, leading to the death of Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成).
If the Philippines fails to respond to the ultimatum by Taiwan regarding the
incident, the ministry and the CGA should disperse fishing boats from the
Philippines in waters within the 200-nautical mile (370km) exclusive economic
zone claimed by Taiwan, carry out onboard checks or detain the boats, the
resolution said.
Following the incident, the navy on Sunday dispatched a LaFayette-class frigate
to join three coast guard ships to patrol the waters.
On Thursday, a Kidd-class destroyer and a Cheng Kung class frigate are to be
dispatched to join two coast guard ships already patrolling the Bashi Channel
for training operations, Yang said.
While the CGA will continue to serve as the frontline force to protect fishing
boats, the military will offer full backup and support, Yang said.
Activities involving the use of firearms by national defense forces require
authorization by the minister of defense.
“Yes, we are ready. The ministry will authorize the use of force” if coast guard
ships are attacked by the Philippine Navy, Yang said, in response to a question
by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方).
CGA Deputy Minister Cheng Chang-hsiung (鄭樟雄) said coast guard personnel have
been authorized to use machine guns or rifles, but not 20mm cannons or other
heavier weapons, which would require further authorization from the Coast Guard
Administration minister.
Cheng said the CGA is also considering installing more 40mm cannons on coast
guard vessels.
According to the CGA, the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 was operating 1.8 nautical miles
(3.3km) beyond the temporary law enforcement line when it was confronted by the
Philippine Coast Guard and left disabled within the enforcement line.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee, CGA
Minister Wang Jinn-wang (王進旺) and Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister Hu
Sing-hwa (胡興華) both agreed to consider expanding the line further southward.
Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Hsu Pei-shan (許培山) said the navy’s first attack
should be authorized by the minister of defense.
Lin asked the defense ministry to authorize naval ships to use certain weapons
without giving the ministry prior notice.
According to CGA statistics, Philippine vessels intruded around Itu Aba Island (Taiping
Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea 154 times between 2000 and last year, and 34
times around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), but Taiwan’s coast
guard did not expel, intercept or detain any of the vessels, Lin added.
Cheng said that according to coast guard regulations, its ships should expel
intruding vessels.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
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