Taiwan has not reinforced deployment on Taiping island: CGA

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) Taiwan has not reinforced its deployment on Taiping Island, the largest of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said Monday.

The CGA was responding to a report that Taiwan recently sent a "platoon" of about 30 Coast Guard officers to Taiping, all of whom are trained in the use of guns.

The Liberty Times said Monday that the move was aimed at cushioning the impact of the stepped-up military deployments of other countries in the disputed waters.

The CGA said in a statement Monday that it transferred some of its people stationed on the Pratas Islands to Taiping Island on Oct. 16 to support the opening of a new wharf there on Dec. 12.

It also sent two 100-ton CGA patrol boats with 20 crew members to be stationed on Taiping Island on Nov. 26, it said.

Those patrol boats are the backbone of the CGA's ocean rescue mission, and "there has not been any such thing as reinforced deployment," the CGA said.

The wharf is part of Taiwan's effort to upgrade the island's infrastructure in recent years.

The CGA said the improved infrastructure will strengthen the island's security and the transport of materials and support ocean research and humanitarian rescue efforts.

(By You Kai-hsiang and Lilian Wu)enditem/ls