Rely on the “strength of the people” to strengthen the island’s defense capabilities… This is the bet that the Taiwan Coast Guard wants to make, which announced, Friday, November 8, that they would offer up to 200,000 Taiwan dollars (5,767 euros) “for anyone who spots Chinese activity” in the territorial waters of the island, reports The Straits Times.
“This reward will be paid to those who report a case of piracy, murder, arson or hostage taking,” continues the Singapore daily. Reporting illegal entry by Chinese nationals will earn 50,000 Taiwan dollars, or 1,440 euros. A system summarized in one sentence in a press release from the Taiwanese water surveillance forces:
“The coast guard has limited manpower, but the human force at sea is infinite.”
Taiwan has for several years suffered intimidation from ships from China, which claims territorial sovereignty over the island and is intensifying its military activities in the East China Sea.
Zone grise
These activities are, explains the Straits Times, of a “China’s ‘gray zone’ strategy, which does not go as far as war, but aims to enforce what Beijing calls its ‘right to manage and control the Taiwan Strait’”.
In Taiwan, the daily continues, “the coast guard is regularly criticized for not having spotted certain cases of Chinese nationals crossing the strait and landing on the island”.
On October 14, four days after a declaration by the Taiwanese president assuring that the island “would resist” In response to any attempt at Chinese annexation, China organized blockade exercises around Taiwan, encircling the island by sea for a few hours.
The prospect of Donald Trump’s return to the White House is perplexing in Taipei. During his campaign, the Republican candidate declared that “Taiwan should pay us for its defense”, comparing the United States to a “insurance company” to which the island should now “pour” contributions.
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