Taiwan is bulking up its coast guard, but the scope of ROC territory necessitates some tough decisions for its commanders.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/21
By: Wu Shang-Su
Credit: U.S. Navy/Flickr
Taipei’s expansion of its coast guard fleet with four large offshore patrol vessels (OPV) demonstrates its concerns about Beijing’s assertiveness and potential policy responses on the South China Sea (SCS).
Since the early 2010s, Taiwan has significantly strengthened its coast guard fleet with larger capacity by acquiring seven 1,000-ton, two 2,000-ton, and two 3000-ton OPVs, as well as four 4,000-ton cutters that are under construction.
Taipei first deployed coast guard vessels to replace its marine garrisons in Itu Aba and Pratas in 1999. At the time, the Taiwanese coast guard did not have an adequate fleet to deploy in the SCS.
Before the four large OPVs, Taiwan’s coast guard fleet was second only to China’s among the SCS claimant states, but the distance makes such an advantage meaningless due to the limited operation period and number of deployed vessels Taipei could maintain.
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