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Officials deny leaving Dongsha isle
defenseless
DUMPED AMMO:The coast guard, which is in charge of
defending the disputed island, has been forced to resort to shorter range
weapons for defense
By Vincent Y. Chao / STAFF REPORTER
The Coast Guard Administration has rejected criticism of security arrangements
at an offshore outpost, amid media reports that critical ammunition supplies
were stored as far as 1,200km away.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper)
yesterday reported that powerful 81mm mortars making up the first line of
defense for the Dongsha Islands (東沙群島, known as the Pratas Islands in English),
have been rendered completely useless because of a shortage of ammunition.
Most of the aging and rusting mortar shells, in use since 1953, were disposed of
by coast guard officials in 2008, and their replacements are being stored on
Taiping Island (太平島), more than 1,200km to the south, the report said.
Both Dongsha Island, located in an island chain 850km southwest of Taiwan, and
Taiping Island, one of the Nansha Islands (南沙), or the Spratly, in the South
China Sea, are disputed territories that are claimed by China but administered
by the Taiwanese government.
Taiping Island, near an area thought to contain petroleum and natural gas
reserves, is also claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday said it was
“preposterous” that the key island outpost, which is currently using 20mm
cannons with half the range, has been left almost defenseless in the case of a
sudden assault.
“It’s an unforgivable mistake,” DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said. “If
anything were to happen, the island’s defenders may as well give up and
surrender.”
However, Kuo Shien-wu (郭憲武), the deputy director of the Southern Coastal Patrol
Office responsible for the two islands, insisted that despite the lack of
ammunition, Dongsha Island was still well defended.
“There’s definitely no open-window period,” he said in a statement, answering
questions on whether the island’s defenses were rendered offline at any time.
The defense of Dongsha Island was transferred to the coast guard command from
the navy in 1999. Hundreds of coast guard officials are still stationed at the
outpost, which overlooks sandy beaches and the island’s lone runway.
Reports say the defenders have resorted to using 20mm auto--cannons, with a
range of about 2km, and grenade launchers to scare off potential threats, which
currently only include wandering fishing boats from nearby countries.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said he would
advise the Coast Guard Administration to conduct a thorough review of the area’s
defense capabilities.
“The most basic defense systems still need to be maintained,” he said. “If a
conflict were to break out, the coast guard officials stationed there would
likely be cut off for a period of time.”
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