The Ministry of National Defense (MND) was noncommittal yesterday in the face of demands from lawmakers to send troops to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), the the largest of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea.
Lawmakers, including Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Yu-ling (呂玉玲), proposed at a budget review that the government should send marines to the island in the wake of an international court ruling earlier this year that refused to recognize the nation’s sovereignty and downgraded the island to a rock.
The ministry declined to support the proposal, saying that the Coast Guard Administration is responsible for patrolling the island, though the military could do more to improve its supply capabilities.
The ministry said that decisions on troop deployments are a matter of policymaking at the highest level of government.
In July, The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration declared the “nine-dash line” that underpins Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea to be invalid.
The court also declared all high-tide features in the Spratly Islands, including Taiwan-controlled Itu Aba, to be “rocks” and not islands, a difference in terminology that denies them the right to an exclusive economic zone.
Taipei rejected the ruling and said it is not legally binding, and reiterated its sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday voiced dissatisfaction with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), whose latest meeting, concluded earlier the same day, appeared not to address the country’s application. In a statement, MOFA said the CPTPP commission had "once again failed to fairly process Taiwan’s application," attributing the inaction to the bloc’s "succumbing to political pressure," without elaborating. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" on Sept. 22, 2021 -- less than a week after China
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
A home-style restaurant opened by a Taiwanese woman in Quezon City in Metro Manila has been featured in the first-ever Michelin Guide honoring exceptional restaurants in the Philippines. The restaurant, Fong Wei Wu (豐味屋), was one of 74 eateries to receive a “Michelin Selected” honor in the guide, while one restaurant received two Michelin stars, eight received one star and 25 were awarded a “Bib Gourmand.” The guide, which was limited to restaurants in Metro Manila and Cebu, was published on Oct. 30. In an interview, Feng Wei Wu’s owner and chef, Linda, said that as a restaurateur in her 60s, receiving an
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