The nation's territory should cover the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and the more controversial Pratas, Spratly and Diaoyu islands, according to the Cabinet.
Dubbed the "constitution of the land," the draft national land planning law would, for the first time, specify the Republic of China's (ROC) territory, specifying land, coastal and sea areas.
The Constitution does not clearly define the "existing national boundaries" and an interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices in 1993 failed to resolve the politically sensitive issue.
The ROC Territorial Waters and Neighboring Areas Law (
The Taiwan Strait is only 200km wide, making a clear delineation between China and Taiwan difficult.
The Pratas Islands are 440km southwest of Kaohsiung and 260km south of China's Guangdong Province. The Spratly Islands are 70km north of Hong Kong. The eight uninhabited Diaoyu Islands are 220km northwest of Taiwan.
Besides Taiwan, the Philippines, China and Indonesia claim the Spratly Islands. The Pratas Islands are claimed by China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Only Taiwan, however, has personnel -- armed coast guards, who recently replaced a marine garrison -- stationed on the Spratly and the Pratas Islands.
Arguments have also been going on between Taiwan, China and Japan since 1971 over the Diaoyutais.
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
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ENHANCED SECURITY: A Japanese report said that the MOU is about the sharing of information on foreign nationals entering Japan from Taiwan in the event of an emergency The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that Taiwan and Japan had signed an agreement to promote information exchanges and cooperation on border management, although it did not disclose more details on the pact. Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said the ministry is happy to see that the two nations continue to enhance cooperation on immigration control, in particular because Taiwan and Japan “share a deep friendship and frequent people-to-people exchanges.” “Last year, more than 7.32 million visits were made between the two countries, making it even more crucial for both sides to work closer on immigration and border control,” he said. Hsiao