Navy vice admiral joins CGA top ranks

QUALIFIED: The CGA needs someone familiar with maritime defense operations and the peacetime-wartime transition, making Yuan Sheng-hua the best person for the job

Vice Admiral Yuan Sheng-hua (原聖華) yesterday became the first navy officer to be appointed a deputy director-general of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), tasked with improving coordination between the navy and the agency amid intensifying maritime pressure from China.

No active-duty navy officer had ever served as CGA deputy director-general or director-general, the agency said.

President William Lai (賴清德) presided over Yuan’s promotion from rear admiral to vice admiral and his new position at the CGA at a ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei.

President William Lai, left, and Vice Admiral Yuan Sheng-hua pose for a photograph at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

“I expect Vice Admiral Yuan to draw on his experience to promote coordination between the navy and the coast guard, strengthen maritime intelligence sharing, and ensure that maritime surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as emergency response, are closely coordinated so that we can jointly safeguard the country’s maritime territory,” Lai said.

Recent developments around the world show just how quickly the modern battlefield is evolving, he said.

“Gray zone” operations can unfold alongside cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns, while the growing use of artificial intelligence and uncrewed systems is accelerating tactical shifts and decisionmaking, he said.

These challenges underscore the need for military capabilities that can withstand prolonged periods of attrition, he said, adding that even the most advanced weapons systems are only as effective as the maintenance and sustainment capabilities behind them — and the skilled personnel needed to keep them operational over the long term.

The armed forces and the CGA must work more closely together to respond to the rapidly changing maritime security environment, the president said.

The two sides should share intelligence on maritime activity and ensure stable command and communications under all circumstances, he added.

Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said that in the face of China’s “gray zone” activities and complex national security threats, the CGA needed someone familiar with maritime defense operations, and the transition between peacetime and wartime conditions, making Yuan an ideal candidate for the post.

Yuan became the agency’s third deputy director-general — a position created following passage in June of amendments to the Organization Act of the Coast Guard Administration (行政院海岸巡防署組織法).

The CGA said the creation of the new post addresses changes in the maritime situation surrounding Taiwan and the evolving geopolitical landscape.

It is also aimed at advancing a “sea-air integration” strategy, technological transformation and preparations for transitions between peacetime and wartime operations, the agency said.

Yuan previously served as deputy chief of staff of the navy, director of the Strategic Analysis Division under the Ministry of National Defense’s Department of Strategic Planning, commander of the navy’s 192nd Fleet, and director of the navy’s Training and Readiness Division.