The US hopes Taiwan’s new government can make available relevant historical data on the South China Sea and shed light on the status of the Republic of China’s (ROC) “U-shaped line” in the region in the face of international law, National Taiwan Ocean University’s Institute of the Law of the Sea director Robert Chen (陳荔彤) said on Thursday.
The “U-shaped line” refers to the ROC’s formal claim of sovereign territory in the South China Sea post-World War II, in accordance with agreements made in the Cairo Declaration of Nov. 27, 1943, and the Potsdam Declaration of July 26, 1945.
Chen was in Washington last week for an annual meeting of the American Society of International Law.
Photo: Tsao Yu-fen, Taipei Times
According to Chen, US officials said Washington felt President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration did not react strongly enough to China’s large-scale land reclamation projects in the South China Sea, adding that the US felt the Ma administration had not showed great support toward the US sending ships and planes into the region to bolster freedom of navigation and flight.
While the Ma administration’s explanation of the “U-shaped line” is correct, the most important part is the claims based on “historic rights,” Chen said.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), territorial water can only be claimed if it is connected to a nation’s sovereign territory, Chen said, adding that the “U-shaped line” contravened this.
However, Chen also said that the UNCLOS came into effect in 1980, while the ROC had already claimed islands — most notably Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) — in the South China Sea in 1947, adding that despite the ROC government retreating to Taiwan in 1949, the nation’s claim was staked in 1947 and should not be given up lightly.
The incoming government should continue to adhere to such ambiguous claims, Chen said, adding that an “actual takeover” of the islands in the South China Sea had been researched, announced and implemented without dispute at the time.
Chen said he told US officials that Taiwan’s claims had strategic ambiguity and he hoped the US would support such a move, adding that Taiwan would not seek to cooperate with China in the South China Sea, nor would it enter into conflict against China over the issue.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
NEW YEAR’S ADDRESS: ‘No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path,’ William Lai said, urging progress ‘without looking back’ President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday urged parties across the political divide to democratically resolve conflicts that have plagued domestic politics within Taiwan’s constitutional system. In his first New Year’s Day address since becoming president on May 20 last year, Lai touched on several issues, including economic and security challenges, but a key emphasis was on the partisan wrangling that has characterized his first seven months in office. Taiwan has transformed from authoritarianism into today’s democracy and that democracy is the future, Lai said. “No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path for Taiwan,” he said. “The only choice
CORRUPTION: Twelve other people were convicted on charges related to giving illegal benefits, forgery and money laundering, with sentences ranging from one to five years The Yilan District Court yesterday found Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) guilty of corruption, sentencing her to 12 years and six months in prison. The Yilan District Prosecutors’ Office in 2022 indicted 10 government officials and five private individuals, including Lin, her daughter and a landowner. Lin was accused of giving illegal favors estimated to be worth NT$2.4 million (US$73,213) in exchange for using a property to conduct activities linked to the 2020 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential and legislative election campaigns. Those favors included exempting some property and construction firms from land taxes and building code contraventions that would have required
TECH CORRIDOR: Technology centers and science parks in the south would be linked, bolstering the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a “Southern Silicon Valley” project to promote the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industry in Chiayi County, Tainan, Pingtung County and Kaohsiung. The plan would build an integrated “S-shaped semiconductor industry corridor” that links technology centers and science parks in the south, Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said yesterday after a Cabinet meeting. The project would bolster the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries, she said. The proposed tech corridor would be supported by government efforts to furnish computing power, workforce, supply chains and policy measures that encourage application and integration
RSS