Taiwan has no plans to deploy missiles on Taiping Island: MND

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense said Monday that it has adhered to the country's policy and has no plans to deploy air-defense missile systems on Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island, the largest of the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.

The ministry said it will continue to assist the Coast Guard Administration by strengthening Taiping Island's combat readiness through measures such as personnel training and logistical maintenance.

The ministry was responding to a media 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 paper also cited an unnamed official as saying that the government will consider whether to deploy short-range air-defense missile systems on Taiping.

(By Lu Hsin-hui and Y.F. Low)ENDITEM/ls