台灣兩艘新巡航船開始服役

Last month the Yomiuri News reported the following:

台湾が新型巡視船、尖閣諸島で日中に対抗姿勢

　台湾の馬英九(マーインジウ)総統は３０日、沖縄県・尖閣諸島の情勢をにらみ、新型の巡視船を就役させた。

　馬政権は、尖閣諸島を含む東シナ海や南シナ海での権益確保に向けて巡視船部隊の増強を進めており、今後は、海上警備能力の充実を背景に日本や中国への対抗姿勢を示していく構えだ。

　就役したのは、台湾の巡視船として初めて４０ミリ機関砲を搭載する「新北艦」（２０００トン級）と「巡護八号」（１０００トン級）。馬総統は高雄港での就役式典で演説し、「周辺海域の情勢は緊張しており、（海上）任務の頻度が非常に高まっている」と強調。また、「新北艦」に乗り込み、艦橋の電光掲示板に日本語や中国語での外国船の退去要請が表示される中、洋上での放水訓練を視察した。

　「新北艦」は北部・基隆に配備され、尖閣周辺海域などを活動範囲とする。

　日本の海上保安庁に相当する台湾海岸巡防署はこれまで、最大で２０ミリ機関砲を備えた巡視船しか持たず、老朽化も目立ったため、「海賊にも勝てない」（蘭寧利・台湾海軍退役中将）とさえ言われた。だが２００８年、尖閣沖で日本の巡視船と衝突した台湾の遊漁船が沈没し、台湾内で海上警備能力に対する批判が強まったのを受け、約２４０億台湾ドル（約７４０億円）を投じて艦艇大幅拡充に乗り出した。３７隻を新造し、計１７３隻体制とする計画で、この日の２隻を第１陣に、１６年頃までに建造が完了する。

（2013年3月30日23時57分 読売新聞）

(試譯文)

   On the 30^th (March) Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou commissioned new style patrol vessels to keep an eye on the situation on Okinawa and on the Senkaku Islands.

   Ma’s government in order to ensure the rights-and-interests at the East China Sea and South China Sea including the Senkaku Islands, from now on would continue to reinforce the patrol vessel unit against the background of substantiating the maritime defense capability, and to show the intention to adapt a confrontational posture towards Japan and China.

   The ships taken into office were the "New North Warship" (2000-ton class) and the “Cruise No. 8" (1000-ton class) which, for the first time as a patrol vessel in Taiwan, would carry a 40-mm machine gun. President Ma made a speech at the service ceremony in the Kaohsiung harbor to emphasize that "The situation of the surrounding ocean area has become tense, and the frequency of the duty (marine) is increasing very much". Moreover, while Ma was getting on the "New North Warship", the ship was displaying in Japanese and Chinese language on the electrical scoreboard of the enclosed bridge a message that request a foreign craft to leave. Ma also inspected the on-the-ocean water-discharge exercise.

   The "New North Warship" was arranged to base at the north at Chilung, making the Senkaku surrounding ocean area etc. its sphere of activity.

   It was said that the Taiwan seashore petrol office, the equivalent of the Japan Coast Guard of Japan up to now had only the patrol vessel equipped with a 20-mm machine gun as the maximum. Superannuation was conspicuous and it "could not defeat a pirate" (said Lan Ningli, the retired Taiwan navy lieutenant general). In 2008, a leisure fishing boat from Taiwan collided with a Japanese patrol vessel off the Senkaku and sank. In Taiwan the maritime defense capability received strong criticism for that, a huge warship expansion was set and about 24 billion Taiwan dollars (about 74 billion yen) were invested. 37 boats were newly built and there was a schedule to consider setting up an organization with a total of 173 boats. This day two boats were completed as the first batch and construction would be completed by around 2016.

It is an interesting political move. The boats could help Taiwan to withstand the challenge from both China and Japan at the same time.