Taiwan has quietly acknowledged donating a coastguard vessel to the Philippines, potentially adding to Manila’s maritime patrol capacity amid its long-running stand-off with Beijing in the South China Sea.
Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration said on Wednesday that “this case” was being handled in line with previous transfers of vessels to the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu.
Unlike those three Pacific states, which all maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, Manila recognises Beijing under its one-China policy. In its remarks, the Taiwanese agency did not identify the vessel, its specific Philippine recipient or intended mission.
Taiwanese media have linked the transfer to the Philippine-flagged BLING NO.1, which is classified by commercial ship-tracking services as a law enforcement vessel. Sources familiar with the transfer told the Post that the vessel was the retired Kinmen patrol ship and that BLING NO.1 was a temporary name being used for its delivery voyage to the Philippines.
