離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Patrol vessels bolster coast guard
Coast Guard Administration patrol ships and helicopters from the Ministry of the Interior’s National Airborne Service Corps take part in a drill held about 4 nautical miles （7.5km） from Kaohsiung. Photo: Reuters
/ Staff writer, with CNA
The Coast Guard Administration held a maritime exercise in Kaohsiung yesterday, after two new home-grown patrol vessels were commissioned to enhance the nation’s patrol capabilities.
The 3,000-tonne vessels, the Kaohsiung and the Yilan, were formally put into service during a ceremony at Hsinbin Wharf presided over by President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九）.
Each vessel is 119.4m long and 15.m wide, with a maximum speed of 24 knots （44.8km/h） and a range of 10,000 nautical miles （18,520km）. They each host a 20mm and a 40mm cannon and a powerful water cannon.
Ma said that he hoped the addition of the two large ships would effectively bolster the coast guard’s patrol capabilities and its ability to protect Taiwanese fishing boats and ensure the safety of Taiwanese fishermen.
Disputes involving Taiwanese fishing boats operating in its waters that overlap with those of its neighbors, such as Japan and the Philippines, are not uncommon.
The commissioning ceremony was followed by a maritime drill that included the new vessels and personnel from the coast guard and the Ministry of the Interior’s National Airborne Service Corps.
A total of 21 patrol vessels and four helicopters participated in the biennial drill, held in waters off Kaohsiung.
Ma boarded the Kaohsiung to observe the drill, in which a National Airborne Service Corps helicopter took off from the Yilan and landed again.
In his address, Ma reiterated his South China Sea Peace Initiative. If the spirit of the initiative — which calls for shelving disputes and seeking joint development of resources — is adopted, it would create a win-win situation among the claimants and promote peace and stability in the region, he said.
Ma lauded the Coast Guard Administration’s increased efforts to protect fishing boats in the wake of the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard in an overlapping exclusive economic zone on May 9, 2013.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Coast Guard Administration vessels participate in a drill in the waters off Kaohsiung yesterday. Photo: CNA
