President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday questioned third-party adjudication as a workable way to resolve competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, because he said that Asian claimants “hold different views on international law and peaceful resolution to disputes than the West.”
“It would be tremendously difficult to settle the disputes in the region through the approach,” Ma said, citing one reason as being that “third-party adjudication” is “never to mainland [China’s] liking.”
China has once again rejected the legitimacy of Manila’s appeal to the Permanent Court of Arbitration to settle the sovereignty dispute over Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands, 中沙群島), Ma said.
“The mainland [China] presented its position paper outside the court and refused to participate in the proceedings. We [Taiwan] were not informed of the case either. Given these, how could arbitration be a possible way [forward]?” Ma said.
Ma said he “agreed very much” with a view expressed to him by an international expert, who said that claimants involved in territorial disputes in Asia hold different views than the West on international law and how to resolve their differences peacefully “because of cultural and historical factors.”
The expert used the example of Japan agreeing to seek international arbitration to resolve territorial disputes with Russia and South Korea, but declining to pursue an arbitration case regarding the dispute over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) — which Japan calls the Senkaku Islands — Ma said.
Taiwan also claims all of the islands named in this article.
Even if all the claimants agreed to the approach of a third-party adjudication, “how many legal proceedings would be needed to settle all the disputes involving so many countries?” Ma asked.
The dim prospect of a resolution through international arbitration was a factor that drove Ma to put forward his “South China Sea Peace Initiative” last month, which called for all claimants to put aside disputes over sovereignty and jointly engage in resources exploration, he said.
“Instead of delving into how to resolve sovereignty disputes, we should investigate the possibility of sharing the resources,” Ma said.
Ma said he could not guarantee that the peace initiative would work as well as the East China Sea peace initiative, a proposal he made in August 2013, which he said led to the signing of an agreement between Taiwan and Japan eight months later that has largely ended controversies over fishing in waters surrounding the Diaoyutais.
“The situation in the South China Sea is different from that in the East China Sea, but it is important that the Republic of China proposes an ideal that aims high to keep the issue alive and to have its voice heard,” Ma said.
There could be some questions raised about how effective the peace initiative would be, “but I do not think the idea would meet any major objections,” Ma said.
Ma made the remarks during a question-and-answer session after a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ma added that he did not rule out visiting Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) — which Taiwan administers — in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), but there is no plan in place to do so yet.
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