President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reiterated her stance on the issue of sovereignty over the South China Sea, saying that she declined to send an envoy to join President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) visit to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) out of respect for the constitutional system, in response to criticism from the president.
Immediately after his return from the one-day trip to the island on Thursday, Ma panned Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) over his remarks that the president should not take a trip to such a sensitive area in such a sensitive time, saying that the DPP is holding him back while he tried to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty over the island, adding that he was surprised that the DPP would not send an envoy.
“We have said several times that the DPP decided not to send anyone on the trip due to the constitutional system, because Ma is still the president and we respect any decision that he makes as president,” Tsai said after journalists asked her for a comment. “We would like to remind the president that he should face serious issues with a serious attitude; the way he commented on the issue is very inappropriate.”
Tsai said that she has not changed her stance on the South China Sea issue that Taiwan has sovereignty over the region, adding that the right to innocent passage whether with planes or ships should be protected.
“The disputes among claimants should be resolved through international laws and conventions,” Tsai said. “Most importantly, the disputes should be solved through peaceful means and all countries in the region, including Taiwan, have a shared responsibility to maintain regional peace and stability.”
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
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Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard