Three of four Taiwanese fishing boats on their way to Taiwan-held Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea were scheduled to reach the island’s shores last night, a spokesman for the group of fishing boats said earlier in the day.
The fourth boat, which was carrying three reporters from Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television, was to drop anchor in waters off the island, said Lo Chiang-fei (羅強飛), who acts as a spokesman for the fishermen.
The fishing boats left Taiwan on Wednesday last week to assert that Itu Aba is an island under international law and reaffirm their fishing rights in the South China Sea in response to a July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Photo: CNA
In a case brought by the Philippines against China, the court said all high-tide features in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), including Itu Aba Island, are legally “rocks” rather than islands and therefore not entitled to 200 nautical mile (370km) exclusive economic zones.
Although Taiwan was not a party to the case and has said it would not be bound by the ruling, other nations in the region could use it to limit where Taiwanese fishermen can operate.
As of 11:14am yesterday, the fishing boat fleet was 53 nautical miles from Taiping, which lies 864 nautical miles from Kaohsiung, Lo said.
By press time last night, there was no update on the boats’ position.
They did not anticipate any trouble landing on Itu Aba, even though it is categorized as a military-controlled zone into which fishermen are prohibited from entering without authorization from the Ministry of National Defense, the spokesman said.
Lo said the fishermen would ask Coast Guard Administration personnel stationed on the island to provide assistance on the grounds that they are in need of emergency shelter and have to replenish their supplies there.
Regarding the three TV reporters who joined the group, Lo said that while they had crew permits to board the ships, the boat carrying them would stop short of the island to prevent their presence from becoming a distraction.
Amid questions that the three reporters might have received financial support from China to participate, Lo said it was an activity conducted purely by civilians without the support of political parties or groups.
Lo said that reporters from several media outlets expressed interest in covering the trip, but only those with crew boarding permits were allowed to participate.
He said the group did not favor the Hong Kong-based TV station over other media outlets and reiterated that it did not have any political affiliation.
BRIBERY CASE: President Tsai Ing-wen accepted Su Jia-chyuan’s resignation as he said that he deeply regretted causing trouble for the president due to the investigation Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday resigned after his nephew, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清), was implicated in a bribery case related to a dispute over the ownership of Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨). “I resigned from the post so that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would not be bothered by it anymore, and the prosecutors can investigate the case in a fair and just manner. I thank President Tsai once again for supporting me. May the country continue to prosper under her leadership,” Su Jia-chyuan said in a statement. The Presidential Office said that Tsai has accepted
ALEX AZAR: The first visit by a head of the Department of Health and Human Services would strictly observe the CECC’s special regulations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar is to lead a delegation to Taiwan — the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official since the two sides cut formal relations in 1979. The plan was announced yesterday morning by the US Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Beijing has expressed its concerns to Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said later yesterday. Taiwan and the US only issued statements saying that the visit would happen “in the coming days.” MOFA said that due to security concerns, it would
‘CROSS-STRAIT CONSIDERATIONS’: Groups said that the Ministry of Education’s policies excluded Chinese and students should not be blocked over political issues The Taiwan International Student Movement yesterday said it would protest today outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei against a policy that excludes some Chinese students from returning to Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June 17, the ministry has allowed foreign students from 19 “low risk” and “medium-low risk” countries and regions to enter Taiwan. On July 22, it announced that it was relaxing restrictions to include students from all countries and regions who are graduating this semester and on Wednesday it further expanded entry to students enrolled in degree programs. A letter sent by the ministry on Wednesday to universities did
The military last week sent “no small number” of Marine Corps officers to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) following reports of a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drill targeting the islands scheduled for this month. In an interview with Hong Kong’s Bauhinia Magazine published on Saturday last week, PLA National Defense University professor Li Daguang (李大光) confirmed that the Chinese army was planning to stage a simulated invasion of the Pratas Islands in the South China Sea this month. The islands comprise three atolls, with Pratas Island, at 1.74km2, being the largest. They lie southwest of Taiwan proper in the South
RSS