Taiwan and Bulgaria security bodies probe pager charges

Hungarian news site Telex says the sale was facilitated by Sofia-based company called Norta Global

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Taiwan spokesperson Sun Li-fang says the public information from the company Gold Apollo is that the pagers were not made by it. — AFP

By Reuters

Published: Thu 19 Sep 2024, 3:47 PM

Taiwan's national security team is "paying great attention" to the detonation of thousands of pagers targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, the island's defence minister said, after a Taiwanese firm was linked to the pagers' production.

Taiwan-based Gold Apollo said it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack, and that they were made by a Budapest-based company which has a licence to use its brand.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the government was closely watching developments.

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"After the news came out, my understanding is that at present the relevant national security bodies are paying great attention to this," he said, without elaborating. Koo was speaking on Wednesday, in comments embargoed until Thursday.

Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for the detonations that killed nine people. The two sides have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza conflict erupted last October.

Israel, like most countries, does not have formal diplomatic relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but the two maintain de facto embassies and have close, though unofficial, ties.

Koo, asked whether Israel had given Taiwan a heads-up about the explosions or whether the two had security or intelligence exchanges, said Taipei did not have that kind of a relationship with the country.

Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang, sitting next to Koo, said the public information from the company was that the pagers were not made by it.

When it came to international cooperation, Taiwan wanted the sort that helped maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait, he added.

"Not the kind that involves any possible provocative actions outside the region," Sun said.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Taiwan cabinet spokesperson Lee Hui-chih reiterated that pagers exported from the island "do not have a problem with exploding".

National security units are watching online rumours suspected of originating from abroad that seek to "maliciously" link Taiwan's government to the case, Lee added.

"This is not the case. I remind people to pay attention to fake online information," she said.Bulgaria will investigate a company linked to the sale of pagers to Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah that exploded this week in a coordinated attack, the state security agency said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria's state security agency, DANS, said in a statement that it is working with the interior ministry to probe the role of a company registered in Bulgaria, without naming it.

Bulgarian media reports allege that a Sofia-based company called Norta Global Ltd had facilitated the sale of the pagers, which exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing 11 people and wounding 4,000.

Images of destroyed pagers analysed by Reuters showed a format consistent with pagers made by Taiwan Gold Apollo. Gold Apollo said on Wednesday that the pagers were made by Budapest-based BAC Consulting.

But Hungarian news site Telex reported that the sale was actually facilitated by Norta, citing sources.

The Bulgarian state security agency said that it did not detect any shipments of the suspected pagers on Bulgarian territory.

Reuters

Published: Thu 19 Sep 2024, 3:47 PM

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