Taiwan calls for peaceful settlement of Spratly Islands dispute
ROC Central News Agency
2011/04/17 21:37:04
Taipei, April 17 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Sunday that the Spratly islands are part of Republic of China territory and called for peaceful settlement of the regional dispute over the sovereignty of the archipelago in the South China Sea.
Foreign Ministry spokesman James Chang made the remarks in response to press queries over a recent formal complaint to the United Nations by the Philippines over China's claim to the Spratlys and other island groups in the region.
Chang said all the countries involved should "first shelve their disputes and then seek to solve the issue peacefully."
The Spratlys are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls and cays with a land area of less than four square kilometers. They spread over more than 425,000 square kilometers of sea.
Reportedly rich in crude oil and other natural resources, the islands are claimed either entirely or in part by Taiwan, mainland China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
Manila made the official complaint on April 5 to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf about China's claim to the area.
Following a closed-door meeting on the Spratlys dispute last week, the MOFA is scheduled to make an official statement on Monday to elaborate on the government's stance on the issue, according to James C.K. Tien, director-general of the ministry's Department of Asian and Pacific Affairs. (By Hsieh Chia-chen & Bear Lee) ENDITEM/J
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