The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has defended the government’s decision to build lighthouses on disputed islands in the South China Sea, saying the facilities are to help navigation.
Chinese media outlets reported on Thursday that the country is planning to build lighthouses on five islands in the South China Sea.
The islands are known as North Reef (北礁), Antelope Reef (Lingyang Reef, 羚羊礁), Drummond Island (Jincing Island, 晉卿島), South Sand (南沙洲) and Pyramid Rock (Gao Jianshih, 高尖石), all of which Taiwan also claims, and include two that appear to be in waters also claimed by Vietnam.
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said in a statement posted on the ministry’s Web site late on Friday that the lighthouses were “necessary measures to guarantee the safety of vessel traffic” and were both in the public’s interest and compliant with international law.
The US and the Philippines have called for a voluntary freeze on any “status quo” changing moves by disputants in the area, but China has rejected the proposal.
Washington is also attempting to use this weekend’s ASEAN regional forum in Myanmar to lobby foreign ministers from Southeast Asian nations to pressure China to come to the negotiating table.
China claims 90 percent of the South China Sea and has recently begun to aggressively enforce its territorial claims.
In May, China moved an oil rig into waters disputed by Taiwan and Vietnam, backed up by a flotilla of warships and fishing boats, which resulted in a Vietnamese fishing vessel being sunk and anti-Chinese riots erupting in Vietnam.
The Philippines has also accused China of building a landing strip on a shoal it claims as part of its territory. Taiwan also claims the shoal.
The Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) met his counterparts from some Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, on the sidelines of the summit in Myanmar.
Wang told Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh that China would take “all necessary means to safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” and urged Vietnam to properly deal with the aftermath of the anti-China riots, the report said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS