Executive Yuan spokesperson Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) yesterday said that visits to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) by former presidents, as well as the “regular stationing of coast guard officers” show that there is a demonstration of the Republic of China’s (ROC) pledge to maintaining national sovereignty.
Tung said that so far none of the South China Sea claimants have drawn 200 nautical mile (370km) exclusive economic zones around disputed islands and reefs in the region.
Tung said that while there are no plans for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to visit Itu Aba, her office is not ruling out the possibility.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
He said that the situation in the area is complicated and that the ROC has a shared responsibility to maintain regional peace and stability.
“We must be prudent in our handling of the issue and in regard to visiting the island,” he said.
The spokesperson said that overlapping claims with the Philippines means that more discussion is needed to safeguard the rights of Taiwanese fishermen.
Tung showed a map used by the Council of Agriculture’s Fisheries Administration delineating the territorial waters and the economic zones of all of the nations engaged in economic activity in the South China Sea.
“There is a great amount of overlap in the waters used by each country, which is the reason for the disputes in the South China Sea,” he said. “Only through peaceful cooperation can disputes be settled.”
The zone drawn by the Philippines overlaps the one drawn by Taiwan, Tung said.
Manila’s map shows that even Tainan, Taichung and other parts of Taiwan proper fall within the zone of the Philippines proper, Tung said.
“This can only be resolved through consultation and agreement. The most important issue at present is protecting the rights of Taiwanese fishermen,” he said.
None of the nations have drawn zones associated with the disputed islands and reefs they claim in the South China Sea, he said.
Tung was responding to comments by former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信), who said that Vietnam and the Philippines have demarcated zones around the disputed Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) — which Taiwan also claims — and that the claims include the ocean around Itu Aba.
The spokesperson said that Taiwan and the Philippines meet annually and that the issue could be settled peacefully with more time.
On Monday, Tung said that although the waters surrounding Itu Aba are not a major fishing area for Taiwan, the Coast Guard Administration still dispatched a 1,000-tonne patrol vessel, the Taitung, on Saturday last week.
The vessel is to remain in the area indefinitely to safeguard Taiwan’s territory and protect its fishermen’s rights, the coast guard said.
The 1,800-tonne Wei Hsing patrol vessel, which left for Itu Aba on July 10, returned to Taiwan yesterday, it said.
Tung said that the patrols showed the government’s determination to make sure Taiwanese fishermen are protected while fishing around Itu Aba.
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