时论广场》金门事件 美国不会替台湾解决（方恩格）

立法院内政委员会邀海委会主委管碧玲、海巡署署长周美伍就「金门撞船案：翻船执法过程及后续处理」进行专题报告并备质询。（资料照／刘宗龙摄）

针对专案报告改标争议，国民党4日将甲级动员，有蓝委拟对海委会主委管碧玲提出「藐视国会」谴责案，要求道歉、下台。（本报资料照片）

2月14日发生的一起事件中，一艘中国船只与海巡署船只相撞后翻覆，而至今仍未完全解决。尽管该船是一艘「三无」船舶（无船舶证书、无船名、无船籍港登记），台湾仍有责任妥善处理，以向国内外的利害关系人说明海巡是署秉公依法。有关此一事件，笔者有以下的观察。

一、美国无法帮助台湾：尽管外媒时常强调台湾的重要性，如最近的总统大选被称为是「全世界关注的焦点」，或者是在提到台湾半导体产业时，形容为「使台湾成为世界中心的晶片」。但事实上，台湾最重要的安全合作伙伴美国，目前正忙于乌克兰和迦萨间持续的战争，以及白宫与国会间为了是否提供更多军事援助给乌克兰和以色列而产生的争辩。此外，无论如何，拜登政府目前正在试图稳定美中关系。

笔者一向以为，美国愿意为台湾做的事情有其上限。国务院发言人在2月20日对金门事件的简短评论，显示拜登政府希望花在此事件的时间或力气是有限的。因此，台湾需要现实一点，并认知到美国无法或是不愿意帮助解决此情况。如果拜登政府在这起事件后想向台湾表示态度，他本可以派遣一艘美国海巡舰艇前往台湾附近的海域，而这也可以彰显出台美在2021年签署的「设立海巡工作小组了解备忘录」具有实质意义。显然，美国并未这样做。

二、迅速且透明的调查：海委会主委管碧玲需要向公众解释这起事件的具体情况上再加把劲。海委会向立法院提交专题报告名称的更改，造成了多余的干扰，也恶化了管碧玲与在野党立委之间的关系。对中方国台办称她「极为冷血」的回应，管碧玲摸了一位男记者的脸并说：「你看看我的体温」。这也分散了人们在主要问题上的注意力。

三、不要有不切实际的期待：在这些情况底下，台湾有时会抱有不切实际的期望。海巡署或红十字会是真的相信两名中国遇难者家属会签下「慰问金」的领据吗？这个要求听起来更像是台湾政府机构痴迷于收集盖好章的文件而已。如果台湾方确信这些人就是遇难者家属，那么最后到底有没有拿到对方收下慰问金后签的领据，实际上并不会对「慰问」这个目的造成任何影响。

四、带外媒到现场采访：在中国和菲律宾在南海的主权争端日益激烈的情况下，菲律宾开始允许外媒登上其海巡署和海军船只观察中国船只的行为。这是一个让菲律宾得到国际社会支持非常有效的策略。台湾海巡署及海军和外媒打交道时不应过于保守，且应该开放媒体在有争议的海域进行经常性的采访。

五、考虑将海巡署转移至其他政府部门：目前，台湾的海巡署是隶属于海委会底下的一个机构。然而，海巡署的任务是执法，而海委会并非是一个执法机构。这起事件显示出，海委会缺乏足够的知识和技能来监督海巡署。也许海巡署应该被移至内政部底下。在美国，海巡署曾经隶属于财政部，而随后隶属于运输部。在2003年成立国土安全部后，海巡署便被移至此部门底下。这个转移是有道理的，因为国土安全部包括其他执法机构，如移民和海关执法局、海关暨边境保护局以及特勤局。

在3月5日当日，美国海军的约翰芬恩号驱逐舰在台湾海峡进行了南北向的例行航行。这大概只是事先计划好的安排而已。如果是这样的话，那么这次在2月14日金门事件后的航行也纯粹是个巧合，而不是支持台湾的一种表态。最终，2月14日的金门事件应由台湾政府自己来解决；美国不能，也不应该代替台湾解决这个问题。

（作者为美国共和党前亚太区主席，许淳恩翻译）

Kinmen February 14 Boat Incident: Taiwan Must Resolve on Its Own

By Ross Darrell Feingold

@RossFeingold

Former Asia Chairman, Republicans Abroad

The February 14 incident in which a Chinese boat capsized after colliding with a Coast Guard Administration boat is yet to be fully resolved. Even though the boat was a “three noes” boat (unlicensed, unnamed and unregistered), Taiwan still has an obligation to handle this situation properly in order to convince domestic and international stakeholders that Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration and other government agencies have handled the situation appropriately. This author’s observations are as follows.

1. The USA Cannot Help Taiwan: Taiwan is not the center of the universe, notwithstanding the foreign media reports that emphasize the importance of Taiwan with headlines such as the recent presidential election was “Closely Watched by World”, or with reference to Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, “The Chips That Make Taiwan the Center of the World”. In fact, Taiwan’s most important security partner, the United States, is busy at the moment with the ongoing wars in Ukraine and in Gaza, and the fight between the White House and Congress to provide more military aid to Ukraine and Israel. In addition, for better or worse, the Biden Administration is currently trying to stabilize United States – China relations.

This author often writes that there is an upper limit to what United States is willing to do for Taiwan. The brief comment about the Kinmen incident on February 20 by the State Department spokesman illustrates the limited amount of time or effort that the Biden Administration wants to spend on this incident. Thus, Taiwan needs to be realistic and understand that the United States cannot, or will not, help resolve this situation. Had the Biden Administration wanted to make a significant gesture to Taiwan after this incident, it could have dispatched a United States Coast Guard boat to waters near Taiwan, which would also demonstrate that the U.S.-Taiwan Coast Guard memorandum of understanding signed in 2021 has substantive meaning. Obviously, the United States has yet to do this.

2. Speedy and Transparent Investigation: Ocean Affairs Council Chairwoman Kuan Bi-ling needs to “up her game” in explaining to the public what exactly transpired in the incident. The changing of the title of the Ocean Affairs Council report to the Legislative Yuan about the incident created an unnecessary distraction and soured relations between Kuan and opposition legislators. In response to China’s Taiwan Affairs Office calling Chairwoman Kuan “extremely cold blooded”, Kuan touched the face of a male journalist and said, “Check my body temperature”. This also was an unnecessary distraction from the main issues.

3. Have Realistic Expectations: Sometimes in these situations Taiwan’s expectations are unrealistic. Did the Coast Guard or Red Cross really expect the families of the two dead Chinese to sign a receipt for the “condolence money”? The request sounds more like Taiwan government agencies infatuation with collecting documentation that has name chops affixed. Assuming that the Taiwan side was certain that these individuals are in fact the family members of the deceased, if Taiwan had handed them the money and did not receive a signed receipt, it would not make a difference at all.

4. Take Foreign Media on Trips to the Scene: Amid sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines that are becoming increasingly heated, the Philippines began to frequently allow foreign media on its Coast Guard and Navy boats to observe the behavior of Chinese boats. This is a very effective strategy to gain international support for the Philippines. Taiwan’s Coast Guard and Navy should stop being so conservative in their dealings with foreign media, and be open to frequent media tours in contested waters.

5. Consider Moving the Coast Guard to a Different Ministry: Currently, Taiwan’s Coast Guard is an agency under the Ocean Affairs Council. However, the Coast Guard’s mission is law enforcement, and the Ocean Affairs Council is not a law enforcement agency. This incident demonstrates that the Ocean Affairs Council lacks sufficient knowledge and skills to oversee the Coast Guard. Perhaps the Coast Guard should be moved to be subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, to which the National Police Agency is already subordinate. In the United States, the Coast Guard was previously subordinate to the Department of the Treasury, and subsequently was subordinate to the Department of Transportation. The Coast Guard was then moved to the Department of Homeland Security after this department was established in 2003. This move made sense, as the Department of Homeland Security includes other law enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Secret Service.

Finally, on March 5, the U.S. Navy’s guided missile class destroyer USS John Finn conducted a routine south-to-north Taiwan Strait transit. This was probably planned in advance. If so, it was simply a coincidence that this transit occurred in the aftermath of the February 14th Kinmen incident. Ultimately, the February 14th Kinmen incident is for the Taiwan government to resolve. The United States cannot, and should not, help resolve this for Taiwan.