President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended the legality of the government’s sanctions against Manila over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman last week, appealing for international condemnation of what he called outrageous behavior by the Philippines.
Speaking at a forum on international law and disputes organized by the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law, Ma said the Philippine government vessel’s “excessive use of force” against a Taiwanese fishing boat in the two nations’ overlapping exclusive economic zones violated both international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“We believe such outrageous behavior cannot be tolerated by the international community,” he said.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
The Taiwanese boat was fired upon by a joint patrol of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on Thursday last week in waters where the exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and the Philippines overlap, resulting in the death of 65-year-old fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成).
The Ma administration on Sunday demanded that the Philippine government apologize for the killing, compensate Hung’s family, launch a full investigation into the incident and start negotiations on a fisheries agreement.
Ma yesterday said the government issued the four demands in accordance with international law, adding that 11 punitive measures were implemented on Wednesday because the Philippine government had failed to meet the demands by Taipei’s deadline.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
“I do hope [the Philippine government] will understand they have to be a responsible stakeholder in the international community. Killing unarmed innocent people on the open seas is not an act tolerated by civilized nations,” he said.
The government announced on Wednesday it had suspended Philippine worker applications, recalled Taiwan’s representative to the Philippines and asked the Philippine representative to Taiwan to return to Manila.
The eight other sanctions are a travel warning that discourages Taiwanese from visiting the Philippines, the suspension of high-level meetings at the World Health Assembly, the suspension of economic exchanges, the suspension of cooperation on agriculture and fisheries, the suspension of cooperation on technology, the suspension of negotiations on air space rights, the suspension of the visa-free program for Philippine nationals and that Taiwan would hold military exercises in disputed waters.
While condemning the Philippine government for its irresponsible handling of the incident, Ma also called on Taiwanese to treat Philippine workers and visitors rationally and in a friendly manner.
“Philippine workers work as hard as Taiwanese … I ask all Taiwanese to judge the matter as it stands and not to vent their anger on Philippine nationals living in Taiwan,” he said later on his Facebook page.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS