Naval vessels gather in South China Sea for drill
By Joseph Yeh, The China Post
May 16, 2013, 12:13 am TWN
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A Taiwan naval vessel yesterday departed from a southern harbor to join a joint exercise with the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) set to be held today as part of the government's efforts to showcase its determination to protect fishermen operating in disputed areas in the South China Sea.
A Kidd-class frigate, along with members of the media, departed from Zouying Naval base in southern Kaohsiung City around 3:30 a.m. yesterday, heading to waters off Southern Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.
The frigate is expected to join other naval vessels and CGA ships that are currently deployed in waters of Southern Taiwan as part of the government's ongoing efforts to protect Taiwanese fishermen operating in the disputed seas.
The drill is set to begin around 6 a.m. today.
Military sources said the armed forces will also be sending other naval vessels and aircraft to join the scheduled drill, including a Lafayette vessel, an S70-C helicopter, a Knox-class frigate and a Chengkung-class frigate.
Other aircrafts that will be featured during the drill are the F-16s, the Indigenous Defense Fighters jets and E-2K early warning aircraft.
Today's exercise is reportedly the first time Taiwan's military has joined the CGA to hold drills in waters that overlap the Philippines' territory in the South China Sea.
Speaking to media yesterday, Sun Chueh-hsin (孫玦新), administrative deputy defense minister, said Thursday's drill is to test local forces' capabilities in safeguarding Taiwan's fishermen.
The military will offer full support to the CGA during the drill as well as to the task of protecting fishery operations, he added.
Sun, however, said the Thursday's drill may not feature live-fire ammunition.
The drill plan came amid Taipei's call to launch a series of retaliation measures against Manila after a Taiwanese fisherman was killed by gunfire from a Philippine state vessel last Thursday.
Taiwan condemned the shooting and demanded that the Philippines issue a formal apology, detain the perpetrators and compensate for the losses.
On Saturday, President Ma Ying-jeou gave the Philippines 72 hours to respond to demands regarding the killing of the 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成). The deadline was set on Tuesday at midnight.
Taiwan's government announced yesterday three retaliatory moves against the Philippines, including suspending work visas for Filipino workers, as the Philippine government failed to meet Taiwan's demands for a formal apology.
MND, CGA Apologize over Hung's Death
Meanwhile, Sun and CGA Minister Wang Jinn-wang (王進旺) yesterday both apologized to the Taiwanese people over failing to protect the safety of Hung's vessel.
“It is the military's response to safeguard Taiwanese people ... We would like to apologize over the tragedy,” Sun noted.
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