Taiwan coast guard to harness ‘people power’ to report Chinese activity

TAIPEI - Taiwan’s coast guard said on Nov 8 it would offer rewards worth thousands of dollars for spotting Chinese activity at sea, including warships or submarines, saying it was harnessing “people power” to boost its own limited workforce.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for the past five years of stepped up Chinese military activity, and the Taiwanese coast guard has increasingly been involved in patrolling sea areas.

China’s coast guard’s involvement in these activities has grown, which Taiwan officials say is part of a “grey zone” strategy that stops short of war and aims to enforce what China calls its right to manage and control the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan’s coast guard said there was a growing threat at sea.

“The coast guard has limited manpower and there is endless people power at sea,” it said in a statement.

“In order to build a dense notification network at sea and along the coast, and to eliminate grey area attacks, the coast guard calls on Taiwan’s people to raise their awareness of maritime security and stay alert to the abnormal activities.”

The highest reward of NT$200,000 (S$8,200) will go to those reporting piracy, murder, arson or hostage taking, while reporting illegal entry of Chinese nationals will net NT$50,000, the coast guard said.

For what it called “substantiated” reports of Chinese warships - including submarines - in Taiwan’s waters, then NT$3,000 per case would be offered, it added.

The coast guard has come in for criticism in Taiwan for failing to spot some cases of Chinese nationals crossing the strait and landing on the island.

In June, Taiwanese fishing boats in the strait took pictures of a Chinese submarine that had surfaced.

Taiwan has been boosting investment in its coast guard with larger more modern ships, some of which can be equipped with missiles in the event of war. REUTERS