The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) proposal to transfer authority over restricted and prohibited waters near islands close to China from the Ministry of National Defense to the Ocean Affairs Council would risk redefining conflict in the Taiwan Strait as “civil war,” the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
KMT Legislator Chen Yeong-kang (陳永康) told a news conference held by the KMT legislative caucus that the proposal is intended to reduce cross-strait conflict and does not involve any concession of sovereignty.
The amendment to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) — which would affect outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties — would allow enforcement by the Coast Guard Administration, which is supervised by the council, rather than the military, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
The ministry and council have formally expressed their opposition to the amendment.
Military vessels do not normally operate in restricted waters during peacetime, and only open fire during wartime when unidentified objects enter an area without prior notification, Chen said.
Chen cited an incident on Feb. 14 last year, in which an unregistered Chinese vessel capsized near Kinmen County, saying that the capsizing was caused by law enforcement actions rather than military activity.
Even if law enforcement vessels from China and Taiwan collide or exchange water cannon fire, it does not meet the conditions for an armed conflict — unless a military vessel becomes involved, he said.
The proposal aims to reduce conflict by allowing coast guard personnel from both sides to communicate directly, Chen said.
DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and DPP lawmaker Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) told a separate news conference that the proposal would "internalize Taiwan's territorial waters," redefine conflict between Taiwan and China in the Taiwan Strait as "civil war" and create "a vacuum in international support."
They also criticized KMT-backed amendments to the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例), saying they would help China circumvent country-of-origin labeling requirements and "open a national security back door."
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