Key developments
since March 1999: For the first time, a senior official made a clear
statement of support for a comprehensive ban on antipersonnel mines. Mine
clearance continued on Kinmen Island.
Mine Ban Policy
On 10 July 1999, Vice President Lien Chan said,
“Hereby I would like to declare that the government of the Republic of
China will give all-out support to ban production, use, storage, and
transportation of
landmines.”[1] Taiwan is
not eligible to sign the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. It is not a member of the United
Nations.
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, Use
In March 1999, a National Defense Ministry
official told Landmine Monitor that Taiwan has stopped use and production of
antipersonnel mines.[2] In the
past, the company Hsing Hua produced copies of U.S. M16A1, M2A4, M3, and M18A1
mines.[3]
There is no evidence that Taiwan has exported antipersonnel mines. Taiwan
has imported 36,747 antipersonnel mines from the United States, including 2,592
ADAM scatterable mines in
1992.[4] It is not known if
Taiwan imported mines from other nations. Details on Taiwan's stockpile are not
available. See the Landmine Monitor 1999 report for details of the mine dumps
on Kinmen (Quemoy)
Island.[5]
An official of the Ministry of National Defense told Landmine Monitor in
March 1999 that Taiwan has stopped use of antipersonnel
mines.[6]
Landmine Problem
Most parts of Kinmen Island were mined in the
1950s due to its strategic location. Former military personnel have said that
other small islands including Tongyung, Yuchou, Liantou, Siyian, Urtong, Tatong
were also mined, although Kinmen Island is most heavily
mined.[7] As one press account
put it, Kinmen “has been plagued by the danger posed by landmines for over
four decades.”[8] A Mine
Clearance Planning Agency report states, “Landmines from the coastal areas
have not yet been cleared. A number of mine incidents involving civilians have
taken place in the past. The island is currently being developed to be a
National Park for tourist attractions. However, the presence of mines is a
serious problem faced by the local residents and will discourage
tourists.”[9]
Mine Action
The Ministry of National Defense conducted a
minefield survey in Kinmen Island from January to April 1996 and specified two
prioritized areas: (1) six mine dumps in the vicinity of Lee Kuan-Chian Temple
in Hsiputou village and (2) Shuang-Ju-Shan and Hou-Pan-Tsun
minefields.[10]
The Ministry of National Defense decided to put out clearance contracts worth
NT$304,716,000 (approximately U.S.$10 million) for the fiscal years 1998, 1999
and 2000.[11]
In 1997, Specialist Gurkha Services UK Ltd. (SGS) won a NT$47 million (about
U.S.$1.5 million) contract to clear the minefield in front of a temple in
Hsiputou village. The demining was completed in May 1998 as scheduled. SGS won
another contract in November 1998 to clear the remaining seven minefields in
Kinmen including five dumps in the vicinity of Lee Kuan-Chian Temple (Division
A), Shuang-Ju-Shan minefield (Division B), and Hou-Pan-Tsun minefield (Division
C). Clearance and Disposal of mines/UXO in Division A commenced on 15 December
1998 and was completed 1 March 1999. Division C commenced on 17 February 1999
and was completed on 13 April 1999. Division B commenced on 6 April 1999 and
completed on 12 May
1999.[12]
In a June 1999 report, SGS reflected on the difficulties it encountered and
recommended the establishment of a National Mine Data Center and adoption of a
nationwide clearance program:
For the entire duration of the project, including the Tendering Stage, the
ROC Army was unable to provide technical data on both the Mine Dumps and the
Minefields. This included data such as the type and number of mines likely to be
encountered in both the Dumps and the Minefields, the pattern in which mines
were laid in the Minefields and the exact dimensions and location of the actual
mine areas....
One means of alleviating this problem in the future is for the ROC MOND
[Ministry of National Defense] to establish a National Mine Data Center. Such a
Center would hold all relevant details and data of mined areas in the ROC and
would be the source of technical information and data when compiling future
contracts. The necessary information would be gathered by researching
information presently held by the MOND and by conducting investigative Level 2
Survey of areas believed to be mined....
The MOND could achieve savings if it adopted a Nation-Wide Clearance
Programme in which several projects were run concurrently and projects flowed
into each other. The key to such a programme is a long-term perspective based
on accurate information on the true extent of the mine/UXO problem confronting
the ROC.”[13]
There is almost no information on mine awareness programs, landmine
casualties, or survivor assistance programs. The Eden Social Welfare Foundation,
a Taipei-based NGO, has promoted a series of “Love Wheelchairs for the
Disabled” activities, in which more than 3,200 wheelchairs have been
donated to mine victims in Taiwan, South Korea, Cambodia, Malaysia, Bangladesh,
Afghanistan, Jordan, and
Mozambique.[14]
[1] Eden Social Welfare Foundation,
“1999 Love Without Frontiers,” p.
24. [2] Interview, Taipei, 4 March
1999. [3] Human Rights Watch and
Physicians for Human Rights, Landmines: A Deadly Legacy (New York: Human Rights
Watch, 1993), p. 475. [4] U.S. Defense
Security Assistance Agency table, “U.S. Landmine Sales by Country,”
provided to Human Rights Watch, 29 March
1994. [5] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
p. 522. [6] Interview, Taipei, 4 March
1999. [7] Interviews, Taipei, 23 March
2000. [8] Taiwan Central News Agency,
“UK Firm Wins Bid to Clear Minefields on Kinmen Island,” 30 November
1998. [9] Sayed Aqa, MCPA,
“Landmine Problem in Kinmen Island,” January 1998. MCPA is a
Pakistan-based demining
organization. [10] Ministry of National
Defense document issued on 24 June 1999 in response to a Senator’s
inquiry. NT$ is New Taiwan dollars. [11]
Ibid. [12] Specialist Gurkha Services
(SGS) UK Ltd., “Mine Clearance Technical Transfer Report (Contract Number
TB88001 W041PE),” 12 June 1999, pp. 1-3; and, interview with Mr. Chen
Chih-Cheng, ROC Representative for SGS, Taipei, 23 March
2000. [13] SGS, “Mine Clearance
Technical Transfer Report,” 12 June 1999, p.
13. [14] Eden Social Welfare Foundation,
“1999 Love Without Frontiers,” p. 27.
About Us
Our Research Products