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President invites Philippine officials to visit Taiping Island

ROC Central News Agency

2016/03/24 13:30:45

Taipei, March 24 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) invited the Philippines Thursday to send representatives or lawyers to visit Taiwan-held Taiping Island in the disputed South China Sea to obtain correct knowledge of the island.

Ma issued the invitation in a Facebook post, one day after representatives of foreign media were taken on a tour of Taiping.

The president said the media tour was arranged in the hope that international media can be Taiwan's witnesses and tell the world that Taiping is an "island," not a "rock."

Last year, the Philippines submitted a case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in which it challenged the legal status of Taiping Island, he pointed out.

The Philippines argues that Taiping is a rock that cannot provide for itself, with all supplies having to be shipped in from elsewhere, he noted.

The Philippines also claims that the soil on Taiping is formed from the weathering of coral reefs and cannot be used for cultivation, and that Taiping should therefore be entitled to no more than 12 nautical miles of territorial waters, he said.

"These unfactual remarks repeatedly made by the Philippines show that it lacks an understanding of Taiping Island," Ma said.

He said Taiwanese international law experts have presented a brief, along with photos of Taiping Island, to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague to rebut the Philippines' arguments.

The arbitrators are also welcome to visit Taiping to see for themselves that it is a bona fide island with fresh water that can grow crops, raise livestock and support human habitation, he said.

Therefore, Taiping Island should be entitled to a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, according to Article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the president said.

He stressed that Taiping fully meets the requirements of an island, which is defined in the article as "a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide" that can sustain human habitation or economic life of its own.

Besides fresh water, Taiping Island has 108 kinds of native plants and more than 20 types of planted vegetables and fruit, according to Ma.

In addition to Taiwan's coast guard and military personnel and a civilian medical staff, there are also chickens, goats, dogs, a hospital and a post office on the island, he added.

The 0.51-square kilometer island is located some 1,600 kilometers southwest of Taiwan's southern port city of Kaohsiung.

(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Y.F. Low)
ENDITEM/J