Taipei, March 17 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on Friday that the military has stepped up its alert for any emergency that might arise before or after Saturday's presidential election, but has not heightened war preparedness.
A spokesman for the MND denied a newspaper report that the armed forces "have upgraded their war preparedness to Situation III."
He said that the armed forces are required to strengthen their alert during important occasions, including nationwide elections, but soldiers are also allowed to go back to their hometowns for voting if they are not on active duty.
The spokesman noted that the military has been keeping a close watch on mainland China's military moves, and added that the MND will let the public know any military information if it involves no military secrets.
Meanwhile, Republic of China troops on the offshore island of Kinmen have heightened their alert, but have not hiked war preparedness because no unusual mainland Chinese military moves have been detected.
Kinmen residents said that unlike mainland China's missile test-firing in waters close to Taiwan four years ago in the run-up to the last presidential election, they felt no tension at this time. (By Victor Lai)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
