Taiwan will launch oil exploration efforts in waters off Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) next year, in a move that is likely to raise tensions with other claimants to a series of islets in the South China Sea.
During a meeting at the legislature in Taipei yesterday, Bureau of Energy officials confirmed that the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Mines, in cooperation with CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油), would send ships to waters near Itu Aba to conduct exploration for potential oil resources next year.
Bureau of Energy Director-General Jerry Ou (歐嘉瑞) told the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee that a monthly budget of NT$17 million (US$583,670) would be allocated to fund the efforts.
Photo: CNA
Ou said that as Taiwan is almost entirely dependent on imports for its oil supply, it was imperative for the nation to diversify its energy sources.
Though unproven, the South China Sea is believed to contain important oil and gas resources. Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all lay claim to parts of the area.
Administered by Taiwan, Itu Aba is the largest islet in the disputed Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島). It lies about 1,400km from Greater Kaohsiung.
In 2008, Taiwan finished constrcution of a 1,150m airstrip on the island. Earlier this year, the Coast Guard Administration — which is mandated with defending sovereignty over the island — augmented its equipment on Itu Aba with a supply of T63 120mm mortar systems and L/60 40mm anti-aircraft guns, sparking protests among other claimants, including Vietnam and the Philippines.
Asking for a progress report, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), a strong supporter of Taiwan playing a more muscular role in the area, was assured that the plan had advanced past the “paperwork phase” and would be initiated as early as next month.
It has yet to be confirmed whether the exploration boats will be accompanied by coast guard vessels.
KMT Legislator Chen Cheng-hsiang (陳鎮湘) said the government should actively mine the waters near the Spratlys and the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) and establish a forward base in the area to oversee energy, fishing and environmental protection.
He also said a multilateral center should be established to lower the risks of sovereignty disputes with other countries.
On March 22, two coast guard speedboats were dispatched to intercept a pair of Vietnamese patrol vessels that had entered waters near Taiping, prompting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to file a protest with Hanoi.
Two other ships entered waters near the island on March 26. The coast guard subsequently denied reports that shots had been fired during the incident.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS