The 2008 Midshipmen Cruising and Training Squadron of the ROC Navy will visit Belize from April 29-May 1, 2008, on a goodwill tour throughout the Caribbean and Central America. The purpose of the visit of the ROC Navy’s Squadron to Belize is to strengthen the bilateral friendship between the two countries. The Squadron has visited Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Dominica and will depart for Panama after visiting Belize.
A welcome ceremony will be held at 3:00 PM, on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at the Memorial Park, Belize City. After the ceremony, the Squadron will have a performance of its marching band (about 160 performers) and its kickboxing team.
On Wednesday, April 30, the basketball team of the Squadron will hold a special competition with the basketball team of the Belize Defence Force from 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. at the Belize Civic Center. The general public is invited to view both performances.
During the visit of the ROC Navy Squadron, the Commanding Officer will pay a courtesy call on HE Sir Colville Young, Governor General of Belize, the Honorable Dean Barrow, Prime Minister of Belize, and Honorable Carlos Perdomo, Minster of National Security.
The 2008 Midshipmen Cruising and Training Squadron of the ROC Navy is a part of its tactical training at-sea program. They were instituted in 1967 and thus already have a history of close to 40 years.
Commanded by the Rear Admiral Commander Shin-Fa Chen, the 2008 Midshipmen Cruising and Training Squadron is composed of three ships.
This squadron’s major mission is to provide graduates of the Naval Academy with practical at-sea training, where they can put into action the theories they have learned. This period of training in the high seas will combine theory and practice, and aims at elevating operational abilities of the Academy’s graduates.
-press release-