President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday called on all concerned parties to establish an East China Sea code of conduct in response to China’s move to assert its territorial claims in the region via the establishment of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
The proposed code of conduct would regulate the use of space and waters in the area and would be established via multilateral negotiations to address disputes over China’s zone, he said, adding that the concerned nations should work together to promote cooperation and achieve regional peace.
“To deal with the rising tensions in the East China Sea ... countries in the region should seek a consensus and set up a code of conduct to jointly develop the area’s resources,” he said yesterday at an international regional security conference in Taipei.
China’s zone has sparked worry in the region because it includes the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), which which lie about 120 nautical miles (220km) northeast of Taipei, and are claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan, which calls them the Senkaku Islands.
Despite Beijing’s demand that it be notified about any flights or vessels passing through the zone, a US military aircraft has flown through the demarcated area, and Japan and South Korea have also sent military aircraft into the ADIZ recently.
Shortly after Beijing announced the zone in November last year, Ma reiterated Taiwan’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutais, while promoting the adoption of his East China Sea peace initiative, which urges all concerned parties to resolve territorial disputes through negotiations.
Ma reiterated the call to implement his initiative at yesterday’s conference, saying that it offers a creative solution to the territorial disputes.
He also stressed the government’s efforts to promote peace across the Taiwan Strait under his administration, citing the recent meeting between Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) in Nanjing, China — the highest-level meeting ever held between officials from the two sides of the Strait.
Responding to the president’s statements on the East China Sea, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) yesterday said that both sides of the Strait have a mutual responsibility to uphold the “fundamental interest of the Zhonghua people (中華民族).”
Beijing has said many times that the peoples on either side of the Strait are one family and it behooves both sides to look after the interests of the other, he said.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Tourism in Kenting fell to a historic low for the second consecutive year last year, impacting hotels and other local businesses that rely on a steady stream of domestic tourists, the latest data showed. A total of 2.139 million tourists visited Kenting last year, down slightly from 2.14 million in 2024, the data showed. The number of tourists who visited the national park on the Hengchun Peninsula peaked in 2015 at 8.37 million people. That number has been below 2.2 million for two years, although there was a spike in October last year due to multiple long weekends. The occupancy rate for hotels
RSS