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Downgrading of Taiping Island to a rock will be illegal: President Ma

ROC Central News Agency

2016/04/14 22:07:20

Taipei, April 14 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Thursday reiterated that the Republic of China (Taiwan) holds sovereignty over Taiping Island and said that any international court ruling that downgrades the legal status of Taiping (太平島) from an "island" to a "rock" will be illegal and will hurt the ROC's sovereignty.

"Whether from the perspective of history, geography or international law, it is indisputable that the Spratly (Nansha) Islands, Paracel (Xisha) Islands, the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands), and Pratas (Dongsha) Islands in the South China Sea, and their surrounding waters, are inherent parts of the territory of the ROC," Ma said at a seminar on South China Sea disputes and international law.

That is why when Philippine lawyers argued in an international arbitration court that Taiping Island was not an island, but a rock, the ROC government felt compelled to defend the legal status of its territory, Ma said.

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

In its lawsuit in The Hague, the Philippines asserted that "some rocks" do not create a claim to territorial waters in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Ma said that although the ROC is an important claimant in the case, it has not been invited to appear before the arbitration court.

If the court accepts the totally non-factual argument made by the Philippine lawyers, it will seriously hurt the ROC sovereignty rights over its territory and constitute a violation of the UNCLOS, Ma said.

Taiping, the largest island in the disputed Spratly archipelago, fully meets the description of an island as defined in Article 121 of the UNCLOS, the president added.

He said he has been inviting the Philippines to send officials, representatives or lawyers to visit Taiping to see the high-quality fresh water source and the ecological environment there, and thus make a proper judgment for themselves.

During the seminar, Ma also mentioned his South China Sea Peace Initiative, which was proposed last year amid simmering tensions over competing territorial claims in that area from several countries.

The initiative calls for all parties concerned to take action to reduce tensions, abide by international law, ensure freedom of navigation and overflight, and seek a peaceful resolution to disputes.

Meanwhile, at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, international law scholars who participated in the seminar will go on a tour of Taiping on Friday.

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

(By Hsieh Chia-chen and Evelyn Kao)
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