President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), ignoring US criticism, yesterday visited Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea, where he reiterated the Republic of China’s (ROC) sovereignty over the land mass and its status as an island.
Accompanied by government officials and academics, Ma boarded the presidential plane at the Songshan Air Force Base in Taipei, flying to Pingtung County early yesterday morning, before transferring to a C-130 transport aircraft bound for Itu Aba.
Ma arrived at about 11am on Itu Aba, the largest island in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which has been administered by Taiwan since 1956 and is also claimed by China, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Photo: CNA
Ma is the second ROC president to set foot on the island, after then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who visited it on Feb. 2, 2008.
After meeting with staff stationed on the island, Ma delivered a speech in front of a memorial tablet bearing a message from him that read: “Peace in the South China Sea and our national territory secure forever.”
“I am very happy to be here today, before the Lunar New Year, on Taiping Island, with all of you stationed on the Nansha Islands, which are part of the southern territories of the ROC,” Ma said.
Ma said the disputed islands in the South China Sea were first discovered, named and used by the Chinese in the 1st century BC, and the ROC government later published maps of the islands in 1935 and 1947.
The Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands, 中沙群島), and Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) are all an inherent part of the ROC’s territory and waters, whether from the perspective of history, geography, or international law, Ma said.
“To resolve disputes in the South China Sea... on May 26, 2015, I put forth the South China Sea Peace Initiative, calling on all parties concerned to reduce tensions, increase dialogue, abide by international law, uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, and settle disputes peacefully,” Ma said.
In an effort to flesh out the initiative, Ma yesterday proposed a “South China Sea Peace Initiative Roadmap,” based on “three yeses and three noes”: yes to cooperation, no to confrontation; yes to sharing, no to monopolization; and yes to pragmatism, no to intransigence.
Ma said the roadmap offers a viable path, two essential elaborations and three phases of progress.
“The viable path consists of shelving disputes, integrated planning and zonal development,” he said.
The two essential elaborations call for concerned parties to be included in the initiative’s consultation mechanism, and to engage in cooperation and negotiations, Ma said, adding that the mechanism should not impede the formation of a final agreement on the territorial disputes.
The three phases of progress refer to short, medium and long-term planning, with the government working to transform Taiping into an island for peace and rescue operations, as well as an ecologically friendly and low-carbon island, the president said.
Ma rejected the Philippines’ categorization of Itu Aba as a “rock,” saying the island has sufficient natural vegetation thanks to its favorable soil and water quality.
“Such statements [by the Philippines] have no basis in either science or fact; they are totally wrong. The economic, environmental and cultural realms all provide sufficient evidence to show that the island has — and has had for more than 100 years — ample resources to be self-sufficient,” Ma said.
The island is home to 106 indigenous plant species, several animal species, a variety of sources of food, and a 10-bed hospital manned by two physicians, a dentist and three nurses, he said.
“All this evidence fully demonstrates that Taiping Island can sustain human habitation and an economic life of its own. It is not a rock, but an island, and meets the criteria for an island as specified in Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” he added.
Ma arrived back in Taipei at about 5:40pm.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RSS