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By Liu Yu-ching and Shelley Shan / Staff Reporters
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday.
Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County.
The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
Similar instances had also occurred when volunteers patrolling waters in South Penghu Marine National Park reported seeing Chinese fishing boats, only to find out later they were all Taiwanese vessels using the Chinese navigation system.
Ships with AIS can exchange electronic data with other vessels, onshore stations, satellites and other equipment using its Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI). It provides identification and positioning for the ship traffic management system as well.
Although the Maritime Port Bureau and the Fisheries Agency had subsidized boat owners that purchase AIS, most of them continue to buy ones with Chinese chips, because they are relatively cheaper, sources familiar with the matter said.
As regulations do not require AIS to be installed on 12m-long or shorter boats, owners are more likely to use the same MMSI instead of applying for a new one, the sources said.
The Fisheries Agencies said it could consider banning the use of Chinese AIS on fishing boats.
Last year, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party reported that a Taiwanese fishing boat used the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, a satellite-based radio navigation system owned and operated by the Chinese National Space Administration, for drug trafficking purposes.
The boat had used the Chinese system to evade the Taiwanese government, the National Communication Commission (NCC) said, adding that the system is regulated by the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法) and must be certified and approved by the NCC before it can be imported to, manufactured and sold in Taiwan.
People who sell the system without NCC’s approval would be fined NT$10,000 to NT$200,000 (US$309 to US$6,177), while those who illegally manufacture the system or import it would be fined NT$100,000 to NT$1 million and would be asked to rectify the situation within a designated period, it said.
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