Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08AITTAIPEI34
2008-01-09 09:02:00
UNCLASSIFIED
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Cable title:  

R/V MELVILLE MARINE RESEARCH CLEARANCE DENIED BY

Tags:  KRVC TPHY EWWT JA RP TW 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #0034 0090902
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 090902Z JAN 08
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7756
INFO RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 0236
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 9389
UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000034 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES/OA ETIRPAK/RBARNES

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KRVC TPHY EWWT JA RP TW
SUBJECT: R/V MELVILLE MARINE RESEARCH CLEARANCE DENIED BY
TAIWAN

REF: A) STATE 1194 B) 12/13/07 EMAIL FROM AIT/TAIPEI

(CONNELL) TO OES/OA (BARNES)

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 000034

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES/OA ETIRPAK/RBARNES

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KRVC TPHY EWWT JA RP TW
SUBJECT: R/V MELVILLE MARINE RESEARCH CLEARANCE DENIED BY
TAIWAN

REF: A) STATE 1194 B) 12/13/07 EMAIL FROM AIT/TAIPEI

(CONNELL) TO OES/OA (BARNES)


1. AIT forwarded R/V Melville clearance application via
cover letter to TECRO on December 13, 2007 (ref B). TECRO
then forwarded the application to the National Science
Council (NSC) for consideration. On January 8 AIT received a
formal written reply to the clearance request denying
clearance for the vessel.


2. Begin informal translation of letter:

--From: National Science Council

--Topic: Reply to AIT's Application for R/V Melville to
Conduct Marine Scientific Research in Taiwan's Waters from
3/11/2008 to 12/31/2008.

--Explanation:

--1. According to Article 4 of the Measures for the Marine
Science Research in the ROC Special Economic Maritime Area
and Continental Shelf, individual foreigners or foreign
researchers partnered with Taiwan citizens should submit
their applications six months prior to the beginning date of
the research. The (Melville) application indicated its first
entry date into Taiwan waters is March 2, 2008, and there it
failed to meet the requirement.

--2. According to item 5.1 of the application, the project
is applying for multiple entries into Taiwan's waters. The
current application, however, does not provide the itinerary
for each of the cruise operations nor a list of crew members,
as is required by Taiwan's regulations. Please inform the
U.S. side to supply the related information. The National
Science Council will continue to process future applications
provided that all the requirements are met.

--(signed)
CHEN, Chien-jen, Chairman

End informal translation of letter.


3. In a January 9 telephone conversation, an NSC staffer
reaffirmed that the NSC supports such research, but that
there would not be enough time to obtain all of the
interagency approvals before the March 2 entry date, due to
the late receipt of application and the coming Chinese New
Year holiday. The NSC contact said she believed that the
Melville researchers had already been advised of this issue
by their local partner. She also noted that the current
application provided significantly less information than what
was provided in a similar application last year. The NSC
staffer encouraged the Melville to reapply with a more
complete application right away so that clearance could be
arranged for a later date.
YOUNG