Taiwan Strait

Pilot rescued after ejecting before fighter jet crashes into the Taiwan Strait

pilot rushed to hospital on stretcher wearing neckbrace
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An air force pilot was plucked from the water two hours after ejecting from his stricken fighter jet off the coast of northern Taiwan, last night. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said that Captain Hsieh Pei-hsun was piloting a single-seater Mirage 2000 on a routine night training flight after taking off from Hsinchu Air Base at 8:05 pm. The aircraft was returning to base when it lost power around 16.7 nautical miles southwest of Nanliao, Hsinchu County, at 8:35 pm.

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China launches military drill around Taiwan as punishment for electing pro-independence President

PLA military drill map
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

China launched a major military drill in waters surrounding Taiwan this morning as “a strong punishment” against “Taiwan independence forces” three days after the inauguration of Taiwan’s new President, William Lai. The Chinese Communist Party People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command announced that it will start joint exercises around Taiwan at 7:45 am today, May 23. The exercise areas include the Taiwan Strait, Kinmen Island, Matsu Island, Wuqiu Island, Dongyin Island, and sea areas north, south, and east of Taiwan.

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US Navy ship conducts routine transit of Taiwan Strait

USS Halsey Taiwan Strait transit
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A US Navy destroyer sailed through international waters in the Taiwan Strait yesterday, May 8, and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) accused the US of “hype and provocation.” According to a press release by the US 7th Fleet Public Affairs, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Halsey (DDG 97) conducted a routine transit through international waters “through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal state,” Wednesday. “Halsey’s transit through the Taiwan Strait

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Taiwan air force to increase late night flight training to counter CCP aggression

F16V of Taiwan air force on night mission
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Taiwan’s air force apologized to the public as it announced that it would conduct late-night flight training to counter the increasing threat level posed by the Chinese military in Taiwan’s air and sea space. In a press release issued yesterday evening, March 5, Air Force Command said that it would comply with instructions from the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to increase nighttime combat skills and tactical execution experience for pilots of various types of aircraft to enhance preparedness and

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Cargo ship aground and leaking oil in Penghu Islands

oil spill in foreground, stranded ship in background
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Coast guard and environmental protection agency personnel are cleaning up and attempting to prevent spreading of an oil spill after a 499-ton cargo ship ran aground on Jibei Island in the Penghu archipelago. According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, the Cameroonian-flagged general cargo ship, Hai Shou, en route from the Port of Kaohsiung to Busan, Korea, lost power and began drifting on Saturday, December 16. Attempts were made to anchor the ship, but strong winds caused the ship to continue

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Taiwan flags Chinese civilian car carriers as threat to national security

roll-on/roll-off ship with ramp on dock
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , , ,

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense is cooperating with the National Coast Guard Administration and National Police Agency to jointly monitor the movements of Chinese commercial car carriers docking in Taiwan, and vehicle ferries operating in and around the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s top military intelligence unit, the National Security Bureau, reported to the Legislative Yuan May 23 on the potential risks of the roll-on/roll-off ships to Taiwan’s security, saying that the MND is cooperating with the coast guard and police to

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Taiwan coast guard deploys elite unit for high-speed intercepts of Chinese speedboats

coast guard special task unit officers board fast-moving speedboat
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Taiwan’s National Coast Guard Administration has deployed a team of elite special forces equipped with high-speed assault boats to intercept Chinese poachers using speedboats to evade larger coast guard vessels around islands close to the coast of China. The Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch of the coast guard has dispatched the Special Task Unit to Dongyin Island, Taiwan’s northernmost territory, to combat an expected influx of Chinese poachers during the summer season. Fish poachers from the coast of China usually take advantage of

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8 bodies washed up on Taiwan’s southwest coast in recent weeks suspected linked to people smuggling

offshore wind tower platform where body was found March 7
Breaking News 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A total of seven decomposing corpses found washed up on Taiwan’s southwest coast, and a partially mummified corpse found on an offshore wind tower base have all been identified as Vietnamese, and are suspected to be linked to a people smuggling operation. A partially mummified corpse was found by a contractor on a wind tower platform around 10 kilometers offshore from the Port of Taichung on March 7. Because the platform was more than 10 meters above the sea surface,

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Two life boats from sunken ship found, but no sign of 12 missing crew

lifeboat from Xing Shun No.1
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An air and sea search for 12 missing Indonesian crew members continues today after two empty lifeboats from the sunken vessel were found yesterday with no signs of life on board. The crew of 17 Indonesian nationals from the cement carrier Xing Shun No.1 abandoned ship in heavy seas at around 3:00pm, October 31, as the stricken vessel began to list and water began to flood the hold. Taiwan’s National Coast Guard Administration dispatched the 100-ton patrol ship Hsinchu to

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Search underway for 1 missing after 4 crew fall from cargo ship in the Taiwan Strait

VIMC Sunrise berthed in port
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Taiwan’s coast guard and National Airborne Service Corps are conducting a sea and air search for a Vietnamese national who went missing after four crew members of a cargo ship fell into the sea off the coast of Yunlin County yesterday, October 17. The Central Taiwan Maritime Affair Center of the Maritime and Port Bureau said that it received notification from the National Coast Guard Administration at around 6:00 pm yesterday, Monday, that four crew members from the 31,236-ton Vietnamese

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Body found in harbor suspected to be crew of Korean tug missing in Taiwan Strait

police and coast guard personnel with body retrieved from Magong Harbor
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , , ,

A body found floating in Magong Harbor on Penghu Island is believed to be one of four Korean crew members who remain missing after a Korean-owned Sierra Leone-flagged vessel went missing, presumed to have sunk in the Taiwan Strait two days ago. Penghu County Fire Bureau received a report of a floating body at the south embankment of the Suogang Wharf in Magong Harbor at 11:50 am this morning, April 9. Police and coast guard personnel retrieved the body shortly

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