ROC Navy Training Squadron makes goodwill visit

By William Ysaguirre (Freelance Writer)

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Apr. 23, 2026

   Belizeans got to enjoy some world class music when Republic of China (ROC) of Taiwan’s Navy Marching Band performed a concert at the Memorial Park in Belize City on Wednesday morning, April 22, as part of a goodwill visit by the 2026 Midshipmen Cruising and Training Squadron.

   Governor General H.E. Dame Froyla Tzalam; Minister of the Public Service and Disaster Risk Management, Hon. Henry Charles Usher; Belize City mayor Bernard Wagner; Chief Executive Officer Francis Usher; and Deputy Commandant Alma Pinelo of the Belize Coast Guard were the honored guests of Taiwan’s Ambassador H.E. Amino Chi and the Squadron Commander – Rear Admiral Chen Ming Feng, who hosted the concert.

   Hundreds of Belizean schoolchildren also got to enjoy the performance, along with members of the diplomatic corps. Besides the music concert, a platoon of Taiwan’s Marine Corps performed a series of marching drills with fixed bayonets. The Marines also put on a very vigorous and acrobatic martial arts display, featuring the breaking of concrete bricks with the edge of the hand, the open palm, the clenched fist and elbow, followed by a demonstration of breaking boards with high-flying kicks, such as many had only seen before in the movies.

   The training squadron included the flagship of the fleet, Pan Shih, a fast, combat-support ship which the Republic of China Navy uses to refuel, rearm, and resupply its ships at sea, so named for Pan Shih mountain in Hualien County of Taiwan. The Pan Shih also has maritime rescue, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief capabilities; its medical wing includes an operating theater, a dental room, three regular wards and a quarantine ward. The Pan Shih was accompanied by the guided-missile frigate, Yueh Fei, and the anti-submarine frigate, Di Hua, which carries a single Sikorsky S-70C helicopter.

   The naval squadron had also visited other nations friendly to Taiwan, including the Marshall Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, before coming to Belize, which was its last port of call before returning home. This year, the ship’s complement includes Belizean officer Cadet Broaster, who has completed 4 years of training as an Officer Cadet.  Broaster returned with the ship to specialize in further training as Marine Corps infantry officer.

   The Midshipmen Training Squadron last visited Belize in April 2013, and had previously visited in 2008 and 2001. The ROC Taiwan Navy forms this port-call diplomatic mission fleet annually. The squadron arrived in Belize harbor on Tuesday, and sailed on the evening tide on Wednesday.