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Taiwan mulling steps to fortify claim to South China Sea: minister

ROC Central News Agency

2011/06/22 20:53:42

By Emmanuelle Tzeng, Justin Su and Sofia Wu

Taipei, June 22 (CNA) Plans are in the works to better defend Taiwan's sovereignty claim over the South China Sea, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy C.T. Yang said Wednesday.

Yang made the remarks amid escalating tension among China, the Philippines and Vietnam over their conflicting claims to the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea, including the Spratly, Paracel and Pratas islands, the Macclesfield Bank and the Scarborough Shoal, all of which are located in the sea.

Six countries -- Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines -- claim all or part of the South China Sea.

Taiwan controls the Pratas (Dongsha) Islands, the largest island group in the South China Sea, as well as Taiping Island, the largest island in the Spratlys archipelago.

Two ruling Kuomintang (KMT) lawmakers versed in defense affairs urged the government earlier in the day to redeploy marines on Taiping Island, which is currently defended by personnel of the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration, in order to secure a better position in future talks among the various claimants on the sovereignty issue.

Responding to their suggestion, Yang said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has on many occasions issued statements reaffirming Taiwan's sovereignty over the South China Sea and the island groups.

"We have also called on all parties concerned to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, shelve their disputes and work together to explore and share the resources in the area," Yang said.

Saber-rattling and military drills adopted by some claimants recently do little to help resolve the dispute peacefully, the minister noted.

Besides reaffirming Taiwan's claim, Yang said, relevant government agencies are also pondering how to better safeguard the country's legitimate rights in the South China Sea, such as strengthening the training of coast guard personnel to be posted on Taiwan-held islands in the region, beefing up their equipment or reinforcing coast guard and naval patrols.

The navy has been helping to train coast guard officers to be stationed on the Taiping and Dongsha (Pratas) islands since the beginning of this year, government sources said.

KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-ming, who used to be a senior military officer, said a military presence on the South China Sea islets would strengthen the MOFA's stance should negotiations take place to settle the dispute over the claims to the area.

Shuai's colleague Lin Yu-fang, a scholar-turned-lawmaker, echoed his call, saying that sooner or later, talks will begin among the parties concerned focusing on a negotiated settlement of the sovereignty dispute.

"By then, military strength will be needed in order to have better bargaining chips to bring to the table," Lin said.

With countries surrounding the South China Sea stepping up their combat preparedness, the possibility of armed conflict in the region is increasing, Lin said, adding that Taiwan should deal with the issue cautiously.