Fri, Jan 29, 2016 page3

• Ma defends his South China Sea visit

  OPPORTUNE TIME: The president said that now was the best time to visit because a verdict on the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China was expected later this year

  • By Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
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  President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday dismissed concerns that his visit to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea could further escalate tensions in the region, saying the visit was aimed at promoting peace and preventing the island from being downgraded.

  Ma made the remarks at a news conference at the Songshan Air Force Base in Taipei at 6pm yesterday, about 20 minutes after he landed.

  “I have to stress that our attitude on South China Sea territorial disputes and that of the US are generally the same: We want peace rather than conflict or war,” Ma said when asked to comment on Washington’s unusually tough criticism of his visit.

  

  President Ma Ying-jeou, second right, yesterday speaks about his visit to Itu Aba Island during a news conference at Taipei’s Songshan military base.

  Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

  Ma said that his aspiration for peace in the region can be seen in his South China Sea peace initiative, which he proposed in May last year. The initiative urges all claimants to jointly exploit resources in the South China Sea based on the principles of safeguarding sovereignty, shelving disputes, pursuing peace and reciprocity.

  The territorial disputes in the South China Sea are far more complicated than those in the East China Sea, Ma said.

  “[The US] is of the opinion that my visiting the island now could further worsen the already taut tensions in the region,” Ma said. “However, I do not see any reason for such concerns, given that I did not shout provocative phrases while on the island, but rather talked about peace. If even what I did during my Taiping visit could cause tensions to rise, then what else could not?”

  Ma was referring to US Department of State spokesman Mark Toner’s remarks on Wednesday that the US was “disappointed” with Ma for making the visit and that his trip was “unhelpful” and “does not contribute to the peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea.”

  In an effort to adhere to his administration’s principle of “low key and no surprises” in its dealing with the US in the past eight years, Ma said that he informed the US of his visit several days beforehand and did not invite journalists to come along.

  “Out of respect for the nation’s system, I also requested Presidential Office Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) to notify president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday that she was welcome to send aides to go to the island with me, but she declined my offer,” Ma said. “Tsai is probably too preoccupied with thanking voters for their support in the Jan. 16 elections, but this is a rather critical issue.”

  Ma said that now was the most opportune time to visit Itu Aba because a verdict on the Philippines’ arbitration case in The Hague over its territorial dispute with China was expected to be issued later this year.

  “Several lawyers and experts representing the Philippines told a hearing held by the UN tribunal in November last year that Taiping Island was simply a ‘rock’ instead of an island because it lacked water and the environment to grow plants,” Ma said.

  Such false remarks could severely jeopardize Taiwan’s national interests, Ma said, adding that the imminent need for concrete evidence rebuffing the Philippines’ unsubstantiated claims prompted him to make yesterday’s visit.

  “I did this to safeguard Taiwan’s interests, not mine. If I did not draw the international community’s attention to the issue by visiting Taiping Island, the possibility of the land mass being downgraded to a rock could be higher,” Ma said.

  Earlier yesterday, New Power Party (NPP) Chairman and legislator-elect Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said that while it was normally "perfectly justified" for the president to survey national territory, Ma’s trip came at a sensitive time because of Beijing’s attempt to include Taiwan in its South China Sea territorial claims.

  He also brushed off US criticism of Ma’s move, calling the decision an internal affair.

  "Instead of carping, the US should consider treating Taiwan as an ally instead of a chess piece," he said.

  NPP legislator-elect Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said that Ma’s action was "extremely inappropriate" and also undermined his hope of avoiding being seen as a "troublemaker."

  Additional reporting by Abraham Gerber
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