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.
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