Upcoming drills in waters off Pingtung 'routine': Navy

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) Drills in waters southwest of Pingtung County scheduled for March 24 are "routine" exercises and will not involve live-fire training, according to a statement from the Navy on Sunday.

Taiwanese media outlet, Liberty Times, had suggested that the exercises, which were announced by the Navy on Thursday, could target an area in which several alleged Chinese-owned ships flying flags of convenience have reportedly spent extended periods of time in recent days.

In response, the Navy told CNA that the planned drills are routine exercises. It also said that no live-fire drills would be conducted in the maritime and aerial exercise areas.

The Coast Guard should be able to "handle" the six vessels currently in waters around Taiwan, according to Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), research fellow and director of the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR).

"The traditional division of labor between the Coast Guard and the Navy is based on a 24-nautical-mile boundary," Su explained, adding that the Coast Guard controls waters within 24 nautical miles of Taiwan's coastline while the Navy is responsible for the area beyond.

"However, when there are many targets and the frequency is high, the Coast Guard and the Navy support each other's missions," the military expert said.

In terms of the purpose of the scheduled drills, Su suggested that they may be related to underwater infrastructure including submarine telecommunications cables or power lines connecting offshore wind turbines.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) have "repeatedly stressed the need to strengthen responses to gray zone intrusions and new forms of threats," Su said.