Last year, the installation of an oil platform by China on the disputed Triton Island (Zhongjian Island, 中建島), in the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) , sparked violent protests in Vietnam and inflicted disaster upon Taiwanese-owned businesses in that nation.
China also stepped up land reclamation activities on the disputed Fiery Cross Reef (Yongshu Reef, 永暑礁), Johnson South Reef (Chigua Reef, 赤瓜礁), Hughes Reef (Dongmen Reef, 東門礁), Cuarteron Reef (Huayang, 華陽礁) and Gaven Reef (Nansyun, 南薰礁), while Taiwan commenced construction of two docks and an airstrip on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島).
The US Department of State last year published a map which showed marked differences between Taiwan’s U-shaped line and China’s so-called “nine-dash line” that runs closer to the surrounding coastlines of Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The respective claims in the Taiwan Strait have little in common. Taiwan has already abandoned China’s wider claim to “historic territorial waters,” and has shrunk its demarcation line to an “island and islet line of jurisdiction” relating to specific islands and reefs.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regards the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) and Itu Aba — over which Taiwan exercises control — as Taiwan’s sovereign territorial land and waters, which gives the nation rights to the islands’ respective exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
The “island and islet line of jurisdiction” of China’s expanded nine-dash line claim includes not just specific islands and reefs, but also all waters that fall within the scope of the line — a further insistence of China’s so-called “historical line of authority.”
Taiwan’s coast guard and navy do not engage in intensive patrols of the South China Sea, nor has the government adopted restrictive maritime laws. However, China has rammed a Vietnamese gas exploration vessel, severed one of Hanoi’s under-water telecommunication cables and frequently driven away Philippine supply ships near the disputed Ayungin Shoal (仁愛礁), which is currently occupied by the Philippine military.
Furthermore, Taiwan has not occupied any new islands or reefs, while China has not only seized Mischief Reef (Meiji Reef, 美濟礁) in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) — which Taiwan also claims — but has also taken control of Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) and the surrounding waters. China’s land reclamation activities have changed the topography of the Paracel Islands and led to military build-up in the South China Sea.
During the international arbitration process for the nine-dash line, the Philippines excluded Taiping Island from its definition of islands occupied by China in the South China Sea. Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the Philippines for “severely violating the principle of ‘one China,’ violating China’s sovereignty and the integrity of China’s territory.” The Philippine government’s decision could be seen as an act of kindness toward Taiwan, nevertheless Taiwan’s power will be negatively impacted by arbitration.
Taiwan has not adopted an opposing stance over the nine-dash line. Recently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appealed to neighboring countries to act according to the UN Charter and Convention on the Law of the Sea and to avoid any steps that would have a negative impact on the security and peace of the South China Sea. In stark contrast with China, Taiwan’s position is at one with the US and her regional allies, which reflects the different path this nation has chosen to take in relation to Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea.
Lin Cheng-yi is a research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies.
Translated by Edward Jones
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