More regulations should be introduced to make the legal system regulating activities in the nation’s waters more complete, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers said yesterday, citing increased dredging operations by Chinese vessels off Matsu.
TPP caucus whip Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) told a news conference on raising awareness about illegal dredging that Taiwan, as an island nation, should have a complete set of laws to address its wide array of maritime affairs.
The TPP made the appeal a day after the Executive Yuan passed amendments to Article 18 of the Act on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf of the Republic of China (中華民國專屬經濟海域及大陸礁層法), and Article 36 of the Sand and Gravel Excavation Act (土石採取法), increasing the penalties for illegal dredging to a maximum of seven years in prison or a fine of up to NT$80 million (US$2.77 million).
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The amendments are subject to further review by the Legislative Yuan.
Waters within 6km of Matsu are restricted and although legislation states that sand dredgers operating in that area would be punished, many Chinese operators were found to only be in “nearby” areas, Jang said.
These gray areas are not technically Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone, as Taiwan and China have not agreed on where the boundaries are, Jang said, calling for cross-strait negotiations on the issue.
Although the Executive Yuan passed the amendments, they are not enough, as regulations for maritime affairs are drafted by separate government agencies and have to be cited from many sources, he said.
The fundamental problem is the lack of legislation from one source that covers everything, he said.
TPP Legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如) said that more than 100 Chinese dredgers have been found illegally mining sand off Matsu in the past few weeks, disturbing the lives of local residents with noise and light pollution.
Efforts by the Coast Guard Administration to intercept the vessels were futile, as the vessels would simply move a short distance and continue their operations, Tsai said.
It is good that the amendments passed by the Executive Yuan state that confiscated dredging vessels can be blown up at sea to become artificial fish shelters, which can benefit marine ecology, she said.
The practice also ensures that the vessels would not fall into the hands of illegal sand-mining rings at auctions, as has happened before, she said.
Lin Chin-kuan (林金官), a member of a Matsu folk association, said that media reports showed that China’s increasing mining activities are related to land reclamation projects and the widening of airport runways in Fuzhou in China’s Fujian Province.
Many Chinese vessels seem to not know that waters near Matsu are off-limits to dredging, Lin said.
Areas designated for sand mining by China’s Xiamen City are 15km from Kinmen, Lin said, adding that hopefully the same distance would be applied to Matsu and Fuzhou.
The Executive Yuan and the Ocean Affairs Council should clarify whether Matsu’s waters have been officially defined by China as designated areas for legal sand dredging, he said.
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