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Ma urges new government to maintain stance on South China Sea

ROC Central News Agency

2016/04/08 17:34:50

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Friday said he stressed during a recent meeting with President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), that issues related to national territory should not be subject to partisan considerations.

Concerned that Tsai might change course on the South China Sea after she takes office on May 20, the president said he told Tsai when they met on March 30 that stances on territorial issues should be consistent regardless of party affiliation.

Ma noted during the meeting that members of Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have advocated giving up Taiwan's sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

He also said a scholar close to the DPP has argued that Taiping Island, the largest island in the disputed Spratly Island chain, cannot be considered as an island because it does not have water or soil and depends on imports for its needs.

"We cannot accept such views," Ma said at a seminar on the South China Sea and his South China Sea Peace Initiative, which he proposed in May 2015.

According to Ma, Tsai said during the meeting that such views did not represent the DPP and were the views of others, and that she "has the final say in the party."

The president also said he hoped the DPP would not stay out of the South China Sea issue after he made every effort to inform the international community that Taiping Island is indeed an island, rather than a rock.

"There should not be any lapses on this issue," the president said.

The issue has gained importance because the Philippines has argued in a case against China in an international arbitration court that Taiping Island was a rock rather than an island.

The Philippines is trying to prove that if Taiping Island is not actually an island, then all smaller islets claimed by China in the region are also rocks rather than islands and are not entitled to an economic exclusive zone under international law.

Ma went to Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, in January to highlight Taiwan's sovereignty over the islet and show that it can support human habitation and therefore deserves to be classified as an island.

Foreign journalists were also invited to visit the island last month to make the same case.

During his speech, Ma also insisted that Taiwan is not cooperating with China or acting in Beijing's interests on the issue. He suggested that the best way to deal with disputes in the region should be through coordination rather than litigation.

He reiterated the government's contention that from the perspectives of history, geography and international law, the ROC has sovereignty over the Spratly (Nansha) Islands, Paracel (Xisha) Islands, Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands) and Pratas (Dongsha) Islands in the South China Sea, and their waters.

Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim all or part of the islands and reefs in South China Sea, which are thought to be rich in oil and natural gas reserves.

(By Tang Pei-chun and Lilian Wu)
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