In an opinion piece yesterday published by the Chinese-language United Daily News, former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) presented 10 pieces of advice “for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) reference” on ways to uphold Taiwan’s rights in the South China Sea and the status of Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島).
Tuesday’s ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the Netherlands, over a case the Philippines brought against China said all high-tide features in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), including Itu Aba Island, are “rocks” rather than “islands” and are not entitled to 200 nautical mile (370.4km) exclusive economic zones (EEZs).
In the article, Ma said that when attorneys representing the Philippines in November last year started to “exert all their efforts to downgrade the legal status of Taiping Island and quoted a [Taiwanese] international legal academic’s article to falsely assert that Taiping Island lacks a fresh water source, is not arable, has no civilian residents and relies on imports for resources, I was alarmed and started to prepare a counterattack.”
Arranging ministers and academics for a visit to the island in December last year, making a personal visit to the island in January and inviting local and foreign academics and journalists to the island in March, April and May were all parts of his countermeasures, he said.
“The unfortunate ruling rendered by the arbitration tribunal that relegated Taiping Island [to a rock] is puzzling and dumbfounding. The nation is united in its refusal of the ruling,” Ma said, adding that he has 10 suggestions for Tsai regarding her visit to the island.
“First, sternly reiterate the nation’s sovereignty over Taiping Island and that it is an island, not a rock, in terms of its legal status, and that we do not accept the tribunal’s mistaken and ludicrous judgment,” Ma wrote.
“Second, ask the Ministry of the Interior to map and make public the island’s base point, baseline, continuous zone, territorial waters and 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone,” he added.
“Third, ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Council of Agriculture to show the Philippines our willingness to initiate negotiations regarding the overlapping EEZs, and before it agrees, have our Coast Guard Administration protect our fishing boats operating within the island’s EEZ,” Ma said.
Ma also suggested Tsai improve the quality of the coast guard’s equipment, lengthen the airstrip on the island so light civilian aircraft land and take off, and have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publish advertisements on the Internet and leading international media outlets explaining Itu Aba’s status and the mistakes made in the arbitration tribunal’s decision.
The Ministry of Education should include the history and geography of Itu Aba in elementary and junior-high school students textbooks and upgrade “summer research camps for university students on the Nansha Islands” sponsored by the Ministry of National Defense, he said.
Developing and building the island’s industries, such as bottled water manufacturing plants, ecological tours, a low-carbon economy, as well as scientific and environmental research facilities, were also Ma’s ideas.
He would also encourage Taiwanese to have their households registered on the island and invite the nation’s allies and friends to visit Itu Aba on Dec. 12, the 70th anniversary of the nation’s “retrocession” of the island, he said.
“That the government does not accept the ruling is right and I would call on Taiwanese to support the government’s stance on Taiping Island to defend the Republic of China’s national interest,” Ma added.
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