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Fishermen to set sail for Taiping Wednesday
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An aerial view is seen from a military plane carrying international journalists of the Taiwan-controlled Taiping island, also known as Itu Aba, in the Spratly archipelago, roughly 1600 kms. in the South China Sea of southern Taiwan, March 23 . (AP/Johnson Lai)
F
ishermen from southern Taiwan vowed to take to the seas to safeguard “ancestral assets and sovereignty” in the South China Sea, Monday.
The action is being spearheaded by Pingtung area fishermen, involving an estimated ten trawlers ranging from 20 to 50 tons, scheduled to set sail for the South China Sea island of Taiping on Wednesday. Retired serviceman in Kaohsiung have also expressed their intent to participate in the mission.
Spokesperson Luo Chiang-fei said the action was intended to “protect ancestral assets and sovereignty,” adding that the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) decision last week severely affected the livelihood and safety of Taiwanese fisherman.
Luo said that overlapping territorial claims and the diminished legal status of Taiping Island could create potential dangers if the fishermen are seen by rival claimants, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, to be intruding upon their waters.
Government inaction would lead to authorities in the Philippines and Vietnam to impound Taiwanese fishing vessels with impunity, he added.
Fisherman participating in the operation said their actions would prove that Taiping is indeed an island. They plan to bring food supplies to coast guard officials stationed on the island, cook, and use the island’s freshwater wells, bringing some of the water back to strengthen Taiwan’s claim about the island’s legal status.
The trawlers are scheduled to return to the southern Taiwanese port of Yanpu after 12 days at sea.
Taiwan’s government has reiterated its continuing mission to protect the interests and safety of its fisherman despite the return of one of its patrol vessels to Taiwan. It stated that another vessel has already been deployed to the South China Sea and that patrol times would be lengthened.
It says that while the area is not a primary fishing area, “concrete actions” would be taken to let fisherman feel the government’s protective presence.
Cabinet Spokesman Tung Chen-yuan said that the government had proclaimed its sovereignty over Taiping island to the international press. Tung said messages were sent to international press agencies based in Taiwan and overseas Chinese language media, reaching a total of more than 400 journalists.
Tung reiterated the government’s rejection and non-recognition of the PCA’s ruling on the South China Sea case involving mainland China and the Philippines. The ruling has not legal applicability to the R.O.C., Tung stated.
