NSB chief advises against presidential visit to Taiping Island

NSB chief advises against presidential visit to Taiping Island

2024-03-21

The National Security Bureau says it would not advise President Tsai Ing-wen to visit Taiping Island at this time. The intelligence agency made the statement after the KMT called on Tsai to visit the island to assert the R.O.C.’s sovereignty. Speaking at the Legislative Yuan, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen said such a visit would not be advisable due to geopolitical factors and risks to Tsai’s personal safety.

National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen went to the legislature for questioning on Thursday. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines, he weighed in on whether President Tsai Ing-wen should visit Taiping Island before her term ends on May 20.

Tsai Ming-yen
National Security Bureau director-general
The geopolitical environment of the South China Sea, where Taiping Island is located, is relatively complex. Would such an act by the president be seen internationally as a move to escalate regional tensions? And would such an interpretation be beneficial to Taiwan’s diplomatic interests? That’s our foremost consideration.

Geopolitics aside, ensuring the president’s flight safety would also be a challenge, he said.

Tsai Ming-yen
National Security Bureau director-general
The second important consideration is the high degree of militarization in the South China Sea. The international community is quite concerned about the rights to freedom of navigation and overflight in the region. That is to say, many countries are experiencing interference from a certain nation as they pass through the waters and airspace of the area. So we need to assess whether the president’s plane would encounter aviation or security issues during the 1,600-kilometer flight. That is a matter the National Security Bureau needs to consider.

Citing geopolitics and concerns over flight safety, the National Security Bureau chief said he would not recommend a presidential visit to Taiping Island at this time. And with the impasse continuing in the Kinmen-Xiamen maritime area, the cross-strait relationship is more volatile than ever. Taiwan’s defense ministry said that in the 24 hours leading up to 6 a.m. Thursday, it detected 32 Chinese warplanes around the island, marking a two-month high. Twenty of the warplanes crossed the median line of the strait. Five Chinese naval vessels were also detected operating around Taiwan.

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考量"地緣政治.飛安" 國安局長:不建議總統赴太平島

2024-03-21

國民黨立法院黨團連日來，呼籲總統蔡英文在520卸任前，赴太平島視察並宣示主權。國安局長蔡明彥週四表示，國安局考量南海地緣政治情勢、總統題座機飛行安全等兩項結構性問題無法解決，現階段不建議蔡總統赴太平島。

國安局長蔡明彥到立法院備詢，媒體聚焦蔡總統到底該不該在520卸任前去太平島，國安團隊的建議是什麼？

[[國安局長蔡明彥]]
“太平島南海地區的地緣政治的環境比較複雜，那總統的登島的動作，會不會被國際社會解讀成是，激化緊張情勢的一個舉動，那這樣的一個解釋，會不會對於台灣的外交利益，產生一些影響，那這是我們評估的第一個重點。”

不只南海局勢升高，總統飛航維安也是一大挑戰。

[[國安局長蔡明彥]]
“第二個重點是，南海地區的軍事化程度非常的高，所以國際社會也對於南海地區的自由航行權，跟自由飛越權，有非常多的關注，也就是很多的國家的基建，在通過南海的海空域的時候，都有遭到相關國家的干擾，所以我們必須要評估，在1600公里的飛行途中，總統的座機會不會有相關的，飛航或維安的問題，這也是國安局必須要評估的。”

考量地緣政治和飛安兩大結構因素，國安局現階段不建議總統赴太平島。加上金廈海域僵局未解，兩岸關係更是敏感。根據國防部公布的最新共機動態，從週三早上6時至週四早上6時，一共偵獲共機32架次，其中逾越海峽中線20架次、共艦5架次，創下近兩個月的新高。

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