Navy vice admiral joins CGA top ranks

Vice Admiral Yuan Sheng-hua (原聖華) yesterday became the first navy officer to be appointed a deputy director-general of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), tasked with improving coordination between the navy and the agency amid intensifying maritime pressure from China. No active-duty navy officer had ever served as CGA deputy director-general or director-general, the agency said. President William Lai (賴清德) presided over Yuan’s promotion from rear admiral to vice admiral and his new position at the CGA at a ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Photo: CNA “I expect Vice Admiral Yuan to draw on his experience to promote coordination between the navy and the coast guard, strengthen maritime intelligence sharing, and ensure that maritime surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as emergency response, are closely coordinated so that we can jointly safeguard the country’s maritime territory,” Lai said. Recent developments around the world show just how quickly the modern battlefield is evolving, he said. “Gray zone” operations can unfold alongside cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, while the growing use of artificial intelligence and uncrewed systems is accelerating tactical shifts and decisionmaking, he said. These challenges underscore the need for military capabilities that can withstand prolonged periods of attrition, he said, adding that even the most advanced weapons systems are only as effective as the maintenance and sustainment capabilities behind them — and the skilled personnel needed to keep them operational over the long term. The armed forces and the CGA must work more closely together to respond to the rapidly changing maritime security environment, the president said. The two sides should share intelligence on maritime activity and ensure stable command and communications under all circumstances, he added. Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said that in the face of China’s “gray zone” activities and complex national security threats, the CGA needed someone familiar with maritime defense operations, and the transition between peacetime and wartime conditions, making Yuan an ideal candidate for the post. Yuan became the agency’s third deputy director-general — a position created following passage in June of amendments to the Organization Act of the Coast Guard Administration (行政院海岸巡防署組織法). The CGA said the creation of the new post addresses changes in the maritime situation surrounding Taiwan and the evolving geopolitical landscape. It is also aimed at advancing a “sea-air integration” strategy, technological transformation and preparations for transitions between peacetime and wartime operations, the agency said. Yuan previously served as deputy chief of staff of the navy, director of the Strategic Analysis Division under the Ministry of National Defense’s Department of Strategic Planning, commander of the navy’s 192nd Fleet, and director of the navy’s Training and Readiness Division. Additional reporting by Chen Yun The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said it has deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes near Taiwan, adding that a Chinese coast guard vessel had also moved in. The Philippine operation “disrupted the vessel’s unauthorized marine scientific research and compelled it to leave its loitering position,” said Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues. The Philippine Coast Guard said the BRP Teresa Magbanua and an aircraft were deployed to counter the Chinese vessel, which it said had remained about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat Island since Monday. The PLEA: How the UN addresses Taiwan’s security issue would be a test of its strength and relevance, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine told the UN General Assembly Only Taiwan’s elected government can represent the people of Taiwan, Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said on Friday at the UN General Assembly, calling for the nation’s inclusion in the UN. Taiwan and its 23 million people are a reality, and only its democratically elected government can represent it, Heine said when addressing the 81st session of the UN General Assembly General Debate. Appropriate ways must be found for Taiwan’s substantive participation in UN meetings if the UN is to be truly inclusive and effective in years to come, she said. UN member states would experience pressure to accept a RESILIENCE: Keeping the defense industry’s assembly lines open would prove essential should the nation be involved in a prolonged conflict, a source said The Ministry of National Defense has prepared a NT$22 billion (US$692.3 million) program to acquire about 200 improved Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles from next year to 2035, a source said. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking defense official said the ministry’s plan for enhanced-capability Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III missiles would be funded as part of the regular defense budget. The 200 missiles would be added on top of the 1,400 missiles being funded via the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan, they said. The program is not about padding missile numbers, but expanding the capability to defeat DEFENSE: The US House speaker dismissed speculation that Trump is using arms sales as a negotiating tactic with Beijing amid concern over delayed deliveries Taiwan is a partner whose “stability and independence” are important to US national security and the economy, US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday when asked about arms sales to Taipei in an interview with Fox Business. Asked whether US President Donald Trump was using a long-delayed US$14 billion arms deal as a negotiating tactic for trade with Beijing, Johnson said that he “wouldn’t read too much into that.” The delayed arms package is “related to the Iran conflict” and the need for missile stocks in the Middle East, he said. “If you look over [Trump’s] two terms, he will