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Taiwan’s defense minister said the country’s national security team is “paying close attention” to the bombing of thousands of pagers targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, after a Taiwanese company was linked to the devices’ production.
Taiwan-based Gold Apollo said it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack, but rather a Budapest-based company that has a license to use its brand.
Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo told reporters in Taipei that the government is closely monitoring developments.
“After the news broke, I learned that the relevant national security organs are paying close attention to the matter at this time,” Koo said, without elaborating. Koo was speaking on Wednesday in remarks that were previously embargoed on Thursday.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah group has vowed revenge against Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bombings that killed 12 people and wounded nearly 3,000. Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the border since the Gaza war erupted last October.
Israel, like most countries, does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China considers a province. But the two sides maintain de facto embassies and enjoy close, if unofficial, ties.
Taipei was quick to condemn the October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) militants that sparked the war on Gaza, and expressed strong support and sympathy for Israel.
Israel’s envoy to Taipei said last year that Taiwan was a “good friend” whose support Israel appreciated, but that China’s response to the Oct. 7 attack was “troubling.”
Asked whether Israel had informed Taiwan in advance about the explosions or whether there was security or intelligence exchange between the two sides, Ko said Taipei does not have that kind of relationship with Israel.
Defense Ministry spokesman Sun Lifang, who was sitting next to Kuo, said the company’s public information was that it did not manufacture the communication devices.
He added that when it comes to international cooperation, Taipei wants the kind of cooperation that helps maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait, and “not the kind that involves any potential provocative actions outside the region.”
