Taiwan is determined to become a peacemaker in the disputed South China Sea, National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真) said on Friday during a visit to Taiping Island (太平島).
“With 60 years of experience in administering Taiping Island, we can serve as a humanitarian aid provider, anti-global warming practitioner and peacemaker in the region,” Hu said.
Hu and several other senior officials visited Taiping Island — the largest isle of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea — on Friday to reinforce the country’s claim to the vast ocean area and the chain of islands there amid an escalating territorial dispute among neighboring countries.
Photo: AFP
In addition to extending President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) concern for coast guard, navy and air force officers stationed on Taiping Island, the group of officials also landed on Chungchou Reef located 3.1 nautical miles (5.7km) east of Taiping Island, where they hoisted a Republic of China flag, the NSC said in a press statement.
The flag-raising ceremony signified the government’s determination to defend its sovereignty over the region, the statement said.
Hu was quoted as having reaffirmed at the occasion that Taiwan’s sovereignty is indisputable, but that disputes can be solved as long as all claimants work together peacefully to explore resources for mutual benefit.
He also urged all neighboring countries to respond to Ma’s East China Sea peace initiative by putting aside territorial disputes, replacing confrontation with dialogue, settling spats through communications and jointly prospecting for South China Sea resources to make the ocean peaceful and prosperous.
Taiwan has set up a hospital on Taiping Island so it can provide emergency medical treatment, Hu said, adding that Taiwan can serve as the region’s provider of “humanitarian aid.”
Taiwan has opened a solar power facility on Taiping Island to help cut carbon emissions and fulfill its international duty of working to combat global warming, he added.
Most important, Hu said, Taiwan is more than willing to share its decades-long experience in managing the Spratly’s largest islet and partner with neighboring countries to protect freedom of navigation and promote maritime ecological conservation in the area.
The South China Sea and its archipelagos, thought to be rich in oil deposits and marine biodiversity, are claimed either entirely or in part by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei.
Covering an area of 0.49km2, Taiping Island lies about 1,600 km southwest of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.
On Aug. 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan had informed its regional neighbors that it planned to conduct a live-fire training exercise on Taiping Island set to begin yesterday and run until the 5th of the month.
“The countries were informed so they will be able to warn their ships to avoid the waters near Taiping Island during the routine exercise,” ministry spokesman Steve Hsia (夏季昌) said.
In an effort to beef up regional defenses, the Ministry of National Defense delivered a shipment of 40-mm anti-aircraft guns and 120-mm mortars to Taiping Island early last month.
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,