On April 29, the United States Pacific Command invited 18 countries to take part in a virtual conference to share their COVID-19 pandemic responses and discuss follow-up cooperation. The Ministry of National Defense has confirmed that Taiwan was among the invitees, but the content of the discussion is confidential.


The United States Pacific Command hosted a virtual conference on April 29 and invited 18 countries to participate and share their experiences in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss follow-up cooperation. The Republic of China's flag was seen during the video conference. The Ministry of National Defense has confirmed that Taiwan was one of the participants. It didn't reveal many more details, only that a dedicated network was used and measures were taken to keep matters confidential.

We did indeed participate in the video conference. The point of it was for countries in the Indo-Pacific region to share their COVID-19 disease prevention measures. It's hoped that all types of exchanges and exercises can return to normal once the epidemic situation has passed.

The 19 participants included the United States, Taiwan, Australia, South Korea, France, and Japan. The conference focused on COVID-19 responses and future exchanges and exercises. The U.S. Pacific Command committed to continued cooperation across the Indo-Pacific region, and issued a call for unity to fight the pandemic.

In other news, National Defense Minister Yen De-fa said on May 4 that China has established an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea. The ministry later clarified this statement.

In the East China Sea, the Chinese Communist Party has an air defense identification zone, while Japan has air defense identification zones inside and outside and the Philippines has an air defense identification zone. With regards to the South China Sea, only the Philippines has established one. Although the Chinese Communist Party has similar intentions, it has never made an official announcement.

In other military news, the number of sailors from the Navy's Friendship Flotilla infected with COVID-19 has increased to 36, and 344 sailors from the Panshih support ship are currently undergoing self-health management at home. It was recently reported that 744 sailors from the flotilla ticked the box indicating "no" in the field "have you experienced any symptoms, such as fever, coughing, or rapid breathing, within the past 14 days?" on the health declaration forms required for entry into Taiwan. This was inconsistent with the fact that numerous sailors had fevers during the time they were away. The ministry says its investigatory task force will interview sailors once they complete their self-health management to clarify the facts.

美國太平洋空軍司令部4月29號舉行視訊會議，邀請其他18國共同參與，除了分享防疫經驗也討論後續合作，值得注意的是，視訊畫面上可見台灣國旗，顯示台灣在國際軍事交流不缺席，國防部也證實我方有參加，雖不能透露太多細節，會議採用專用網路，且有保密措施。

國防部發言人 史順文表示：「視訊會議確實是有參加，它的重點主要是在分享印太地區，各國對於新冠肺炎(防疫)。希望在疫情過了之後，各項的交流跟演訓，都是可以恢復正常。」

這會回參與視訊會議的國家，包括美國、台灣、澳洲、韓國、法國、日本等19個國家，會議聚焦對抗武漢肺炎，以及疫情後期的相關交流、訓練，美國太平洋空軍司令部承諾會在印太地區持續合作，團結對抗疫情。

台美軍事交流升溫，但國防部長嚴德發4號透露，中國在南海劃設防空識別區ADIZ，引發熱議，不過國防部則改口澄清。

國防部發言人 史順文表示：「有中共設置的東海防空識別區、日本有內外防空識別區、菲律賓有防空識別區，目前南海的部分，只有菲律賓在做設置，中共雖然有類似的一個說法，但是從來也沒有正式對外來公布。」

至於敦睦艦隊目前累計36人確診，磐石艦344官兵也返家落實自主健康管理，不過，敦睦艦隊744名官兵爆出填寫入境健康聲明卡，在「過去14天是否發燒、咳嗽及呼吸急促等症狀」欄位上，竟全部勾否，與遠航期間，有人出現發燒狀況不符，對此，國防部回應，等官兵解除自主健康管理後，專案小組會當面訪談，釐清真相。