Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday said she visited a second Taiwan-controlled islet deep in the South China Sea, adding that complaints by Vietnam about her trip would not cause regional tensions.
China claim sovereigntys over most of the South China Sea, and Taiwan controls Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the contested Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島).
Kuan, whose council runs the Coast Guard Administration, wrote on Facebook that she also visited the nearby uninhabited Jhongjhou Reef (中洲礁) for a beach cleanup.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
“There, I personally witnessed marine debris that had drifted in from surrounding countries and gained a deeper appreciation for the day-to-day life of our coast guard personnel stationed in the Nansha Islands,” she added.
Kuan posted two pictures of herself and her team on Jhongjhou, with one person carrying a large Republic of China flag.
Speaking to reporters at the legislature in Taipei about her visit, Kuan said that “in the defense of sovereignty, of course there is absolutely no backing down.”
Kuan was in the Spratly Islands for environmental and humanitarian drills, the coast guard said.
Jhongjhou and Itu Aba are also claimed by China and Vietnam.
Vietnam had complained about her trip, the first time in seven years a Taiwanese minister has visited the nation’s holdings in the Spratly Islands, Kuan said, but added that Hanoi’s protest “has not been notably more forceful than usual.”
“Our exercise has not caused, nor will it cause, any regional tension,” her post said.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Itu Aba has a runway long enough for military resupply flights from Taiwan, and the nation opened a new wharf there in 2023 that is able to accommodate a 4,000-tonne patrol ship. However, the island is lightly defended compared with nearby Chinese-controlled islands.
Chinese forces generally do not operate near Itu Aba and Jhongjhou.
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