Taiwan is continuing to communicate with countries that have expressed concerns over a trip by President Chen Shui-bian (
Reacting to a protest lodged by the Philippines a day earlier, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (
In Manila, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo called Chen's visit "lamentable."
"The Philippines expresses serious concern over this reported development that works against the joint efforts by claimant countries in the South China Sea to achieve peace and stability in the region," Romulo said in a statement issued on Saturday.
Vietnam also criticized Chen's weekend visit to the Spratlys in a statement reported by the Vietnam News Agency yesterday.
"Taiwan has to take full responsibility for any consequence caused by this action," foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said. "Vietnam considers the action a serious escalation that violated Vietnam's territorial sovereignty in regard to the Truong Sa [Spratly] archipelago and increased tension as well as complication in the region."
Dung said that Vietnam has strong historic and legal claims to sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos.
Quoting Chen as saying that "the sovereignty dispute should be replaced with environmental protection and depletion of resources should be replaced with sustainable ecology," Yeh said all countries concerned should seek a peaceful solution through dialogue.
The Spratlys consist of about 100 barren islets, reefs and atolls dotting the world's busiest shipping lanes in the South China Sea.
Vietnam, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei each claim all or part of the low-lying islands, believed to be rich in oil, gas and fish stocks.
Taiping's only inhabitants are several dozen Taiwanese troops stationed there. Taiwanese forces have built medical facilities on the island for soldiers and passing sailors, and have installed weather and environmental surveillance equipment.
China and Vietnam clashed diplomatically over the island group in 1988 and 1992. Other countries have engaged in low-level skirmishes over their own claims. China and Vietnam agreed last month to handle their disputes over the islands through negotiations and pledged to safeguard peace in the South China Sea.
The Philippines representative to Taiwan, Antonio Basilio, said recently that the Philippines "will continue to enhance its ties with Taiwan," downplaying controversy over the disputed Spratly Islands.
Basilio expressed concern over the visit but said Taiwan would remain a very important economic partner of the Philippines.
Noting that the Philippines and Taiwan are in the final stage of negotiations for an "Economic Corridor," Basilio expressed confidence that the venture would help Taiwanese businesses tap markets in Southeast Asia once ASEAN implements a free trade agreement, from which Taiwan is excluded.
The Economic Corridor, based on a memorandum of understanding signed on Dec. 6, 2005, aims at linking the Subic and Clark Special Economic Zones in the Philippines with the Economic Processing Zones in Taiwan.
Basilio said that if Taiwanese businesses meet the "local content" criteria of the Philippines, their products will be considered products of the Philippines and will therefore be eligible for duty-free treatment in ASEAN.
He said that Subic Bay and Clark were working hard to improve infrastructure, with the hope that the plan can be accomplished later this year.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS