The ROC Coast Guard Administration and other agencies carried out a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise, Operation Nanyuan No. 1, on Taiping Island and in its relevant waters in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands Nov. 29.

Three aircraft, eight vessels, and 336 persons took part in the exercise, which simulated a foreign-flagged cargo ship on fire, with five injured people jumping overboard. In addition to the CGA, the Ministries of Transportation and Communications, National Defense, and Health and Welfare, as well as the National Rescue Command Center, participated in the drill, marking the first such ROC cross-agency humanitarian exercise in the South China Sea

The exercise, conducted as part of President Tsai Ing-wen’s policy to transform Taiping Island into a base for the provision of humanitarian aid and logistical support, demonstrated the efficacy of the government’s mechanism for cross-agency cooperation and its humanitarian assistance/disaster relief capabilities in the South China Sea.

Since the CGA took over administration of the Dongsha (Pratas) and Nansha Islands in 2000, it has conducted 70 humanitarian assistance/disaster relief missions, aiding 100 people, including 23 operations assisting 25 people in the relevant waters of the Nanshas. The CGA will continue to carry out humanitarian rescue exercises in the area while expanding humanitarian assistance/disaster relief cooperation with neighboring countries, making Taiping Island a center for humanitarian aid and logistical support.