TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Navy’s Dunmu Goodwill Fleet returned to Taiwan on Tuesday, marking the end of a 104-day overseas voyage.
This year’s fleet was led by the fast combat support ship Panshi as the flagship, accompanied by the Cheng Kung-class frigate ROCS Yueh Fei and the Kang Ding-class frigate ROCS Di Hua, Liberty Times reported. The fleet departed on Feb. 26, visiting six diplomatic allies: the Marshall Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, and Guatemala. Unlike previous years, there was no recorded port call in Palau, a Pacific Island ally.
The fleet’s visit to Saint Lucia was its first in 59 years, while it had been more than 20 years since it stopped in Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, according to Liberty Times.
The fleet entered the Panama Canal from the Pacific side in April, transited to the Atlantic to visit Belize, and crossed the canal again in May to return to the Pacific and visit Guatemala.
Graduating students from Taiwan’s Naval Academy and National Defense University took part in the voyage to bolster blue-water capabilities.
