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| Image: Flickr User - Times Asi |
By Franz-Stefan Gady
The vessels will be deployed in the South and East China Seas respectively.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has formally commissioned its two biggest ships for duty at an induction ceremony held at Hsinbin Wharf on June 6.
The 3,000-ton patrol ships, Yilan (CG 128) and Kaohsiung (CG 129), will boost the CGA’s maritime patrol and search-and-rescue capabilities and help protect Taiwanese fishing boats as well as Taiwanese fishermen, and assist in combating illegal poaching activities.
One of the patrol ships will be deployed in the South China Sea, while the other will be send to the East China Sea, Reuters reports.
The induction ceremony was presided over by President Ma Ying-jeou and followed up by the CGA’s biennial naval exercise involving a total of 21 patrol vessels and boats – including the Yilan and Kaohsiung – as well as four helicopters. The drill was held in waters off Kaohsiung City in the southwest of Taiwan.
Read the full story at The Diplomat