Defense ministry mum on alleged Philippines warship donation plan

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) Taiwan's Defense Ministry on Wednesday would not comment on a media report that the government is considering gifting the Philippines a soon-to-be-decommissioned Navy warship.

The Chinese-language United Daily News (UDN) reported on Tuesday that Taiwan could donate the Navy's 500-tonne-class Jin Chiang Patrol Ship to the Philippines after it is decommissioned at the end of this year.

Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) expressed concern that the reported plan to donate the warship could undermine the safety of Taiwanese fishermen operating in an area where the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of the two countries overlap.

Although the ship would likely be disarmed for the donation, it could be re-armed by the Philippines and used against Taiwanese fishermen, Ma, a member of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.

She was alluding to the Philippine Coast Guard's fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fishermen and his fishing boat that was operating in the overlapping EEZs in 2013.

The more pressing threat faced by the Philippines today, however, is from China, which continues to operate extensively in the Philippines' EEZ, often with impunity and to the detriment of Philippine fishermen.

No government agency has confirmed whether such a plan is under consideration and what the reason for it would be, but the Taiwanese Coast Guard recent confirmed that it donated a 500-tonne-class patrol vessel to the Philippines, without explaining why.

Ma said that donation generated controversy, and she urged the defense and foreign ministries to clarify plans to donate more vessels to Manila.

Asked to comment on the report, Maj. Gen. Chao Fu-chun (喬福駿), the defense ministry's deputy spokesperson, said it was "speculative in nature," and he declined to comment further.

"Any plans to gift retired military equipment to foreign entities will be carried out in accordance with national-level diplomatic policies," Chao said.

In other news, the Navy on Wednesday said there has been no change to deployment plans or the maintenance status of its SM-2 missiles, amid news that they are nearing the end of their service lives.

According to media reports, Taiwan has purchased a total of 292 SM-2 medium-range surface-to-air missiles from the United States since 2004 for use aboard its Keelung-class destroyers, but only six missiles have been fired in live-fire exercises during the vessels' 22 years in service.

The remaining missiles are reportedly approaching the end of their service lives.

Navy Chief of Staff Vice Adm. Chu Hui-min (朱惠民) said the SM-2 missiles are currently deployed aboard the Keelung-class destroyers and that the number of missiles carried and held in reserve is sufficient to meet operational requirements.

Chu added that the Navy has channels in place to work with the U.S. side on the repair and maintenance of missile components.

Overall, the condition of the SM-2 missiles remains normal, he said.