The government on Tuesday reaffirmed the nation’s right to conduct military exercises in and around a Taipei-controlled island in the disputed South China Sea after the Vietnamese government issued a protest over a drill held earlier this month.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) rejected Vietnam’s accusation that live-fire drills conducted by Taiwan in waters around Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) on Wednesday last week were a “serious violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the islands.”
“Vietnam resolutely opposes this act and asks Taiwan not to repeat similar violations,” Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said during a press event on Monday.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
MOFA said in its statement that Vietnam’s accusation is “totally unacceptable.”
The government of the Republic of China retains all rights over the South China Sea island and surrounding waters, in accordance with international law and the law of the sea, it said.
“Taiping Island is indisputably the territory of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and the government of the Republic of China has the authority to exercise all the rights of a sovereign state over Taiping Island and its relevant waters,” the statement said.
Citing President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2016 principles concerning South China Sea disputes, MOFA said that Tsai called for peaceful resolution of the issues to facilitate peace and stability in the region while upholding equality and shared prosperity.
Taiping, also known as Ba Binh in Vietnamese, the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), lies 1,600km southwest of Kaohsiung and is administered as part of the special municipality’s Cijin District (旗津).
The island is also claimed by China and the Philippines.
Taiwan has control over the island, which is occupied by Taiwanese coast guard personnel trained by the Marine Corps and drills are held regularly.
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