President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is scheduled to visit Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea today if the weather permits, Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said yesterday.
Chen said that the purpose of Ma’s visit is to greet Coast Guard Administration personnel and academics stationed on the island ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Itu Aba, which lies 1,600km south of Taiwan, is the largest natural island controlled by the Republic of China (ROC) in the disputed South China Sea.
Photo: Luo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
Ma, whose second and final term as president ends on May 20, has never set foot on the island during his terms in office.
Describing the island as an inherent part of the territory of the ROC, Chen said that Ma has never ruled out a visit to the island, noting that former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) made a visit.
However, the Presidential Office spokesperson failed to mention that when Chen Shui-bian announced plans to visit Itu Aba in February 2008, he was criticized by Ma, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate, saying that, as an outgoing president, Chen Shui-bian was supposed to stablize society, maintain national security and work on preparations for the transition of power.
Photo: CNA
Ma is to be accompanied by about 20 officials and academics, Chen said, but no arrangements would be made for media personnel to join the trip.
Ma is expected to hold a news conference after returning to Taipei, Chen said.
The planned visit comes as the government moves to reinforce the ROC’s sovereignty claim over the island in the wake of China’s buildup in the region and the Philippines’ case against Beijing at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Beijing claims the waters and land in the South China Sea based on a “nine-dash line” and reinforces those claims by saying the islands, reefs and atolls it considers its own have 200 nautical mile (370 km) exclusive economic zones.
The Philippines disputes those claims, arguing that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) the atolls and reefs claimed by Beijing are nothing more than “rocks” or “sunken reefs” that can generate 12 nautical miles (22.22km) of territorial waters at best.
They are not naturally formed “islands” capable of sustaining human habitation or economic life, which are entitled to exclusive economic zones under UNCLOS, the Philippines has argued.
The case does not directly involve Taiwan, but it might have indirect implications because Taiwan also claims all of the South China Sea using a similar “nine-dash line” to China’s and has a presence on Itu Aba.
Ma has insisted on Itu Aba’s status as an “island” under the UN convention’s guidelines, writing on Facebook post last month that the island is self-sustaining, with fresh water, and vegetable and poultry farms.
An expert panel formed by the Council of Agriculture that toured the island on Friday and Saturday last week to check on its natural and agricultural environment also confirmed that it qualifies as an island.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially notified Taiwan’s diplomatic allies of the planned visit, while Presidential Office Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) said he has contacted the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Ma’s behalf to invite president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to send an envoy on the trip.
DPP spokesman Yang Chia-liang (楊家俍) said that the party had responded that it has no plans to send a representative to take part in the visit.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS