Surf Taiwan News, Browse the World »
Four female coastguard troops posted at Taiping Island
Central News Agency
2014-02-23 07:26 PM
Taipei, Feb. 23 (CNA) Four women coastguard troops have been posted to Taiping Island, the largest island of the Nansha, or the Spratly Islands, after the government raised the allowances for troops stationed at islands off Taiwan to NT$20,000 (US$658). The four women, including one officer and three non-ranking troops, have been placed into the charge of the coastguard commander on Taiping Island and will carry out the same duties as the male troops including, while dressed in full uniform aboard patrol boats, driving off poaching fishing boats. A coastguard spokesman said the coastguardsmen on the island, including machinegun and rifle men, wear flak jackets and bullet-proof helmets while on duty. The Coast Guard Administration is recruiting people with special skills, such as those who know the Vietnamese language, so they can warn illegally poaching fishermen from Vietnam to leave, said the spokesman. Also, the spokesman said, the administration is training more women coastguards for duty on Taiping Island, which is 1,600 km south of Taiwan's Kaohsiung Harbor, and one of the Chinese South Sea islands claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan. (By Maubo Chang)
  • Taiwan News  ©  2014 All Rights Reserved.