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No contact between Taipei, Beijing after South China Sea decision
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Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen (center right) reviews nautical charts aboard a Taiwan Navy ship before it sets out to patrol in the South China Sea from the naval base in the southern port city of Khaohsiung, Taiwan, Wednesday. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP/-)
T
aiwan and mainland China did not communicate following the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) South China Sea ruling, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Katharine Chang revealed Wednesday.
“Each side has its individual position [on the matter] and is pursuing its own interests,” Chang told the Legislative Yuan’s Internal Affairs Committee when asked whether the two side’s interests could be interpreted by foreign governments as a potential avenue of cooperation.
The South China Sea dispute should be resolved peacefully, multilaterally and under the principle of equality, she told lawmakers, adding that shelving disputes would enable the area’s resources to be jointly developed by multiple actors.
In a report to the committee, Chang said the MAC was continuing to monitor Beijing’s reaction to the South China Sea ruling, which sided with the Philippines by rejecting China’s historical claims in the region - in the process severely damaging Taiwan’s own territorial claims, specifically that over Taiping Island.
As expected, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties pressed the foreign, defense, interior, coast guard and agricultural ministries on the government’s response following the unfavorable PCA ruling on Tuesday.
Asked by Legislator Huang Chao-hsun whether Marines would be redeployed to Taiping Island, Deputy Defense Minister Cheng De-mei stated that any deployments would be dependent on situational needs but that an increased military presence could be considered.
Coast Guard Administration Minister Lee Chung-wei said patrols would be increased in conjunction with the Navy to protect Taiwanese fishermen operating near Taiping Island. Cabinet officials confirmed that the Taitung, a 1,000-ton patrol vessel, would be deployed to the area on Saturday. The 1,800-ton patrol vessel Wei-hsing and the Kangding-class frigate Ti-hua are due to arrive in the area beforehand.
While stating that vessels were prepared to drive off any vessels that encroached into territorial waters, Lee and Interior Minister Yeh Jiunn-rong did not explicitly state whether an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) existed around Taiping Island, evading hypothetical questions on how official vessels would react to Filipino or other foreign vessels entering waters within 200 nautical miles of the island.
Following questioning by legislators, the committee passed a motion recommending President Tsai Ing-wen visit Taiping Island to assert Taiwan’s sovereignty following the PCA’s decision. The motion also called for the president to widen Taiwan’s stance worldwide by holding an international press conference on the matter to show the nation’s determination to defend its territory. Former presidents Chen Shui-bian and Ma Ying-jeou made separate visits to the island to proclaim it a part of R.O.C. territory when they were in office.
Pan-blue lawmakers had expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s “ambiguous” stance on the R.O.C.’s “11-dash line,” which marks its claims in the South China Sea on territorial maps. The PCA’s ruling rejected a similar “nine-dash line” drawn up by mainland China.
