Taiwan is continuing to communicate with countries that have expressed concerns over a trip by President Chen Shui-bian (
Reacting to a protest lodged by the Philippines a day earlier, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (
In Manila, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo called Chen's visit "lamentable."
"The Philippines expresses serious concern over this reported development that works against the joint efforts by claimant countries in the South China Sea to achieve peace and stability in the region," Romulo said in a statement issued on Saturday.
Vietnam also criticized Chen's weekend visit to the Spratlys in a statement reported by the Vietnam News Agency yesterday.
"Taiwan has to take full responsibility for any consequence caused by this action," foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said. "Vietnam considers the action a serious escalation that violated Vietnam's territorial sovereignty in regard to the Truong Sa [Spratly] archipelago and increased tension as well as complication in the region."
Dung said that Vietnam has strong historic and legal claims to sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos.
Quoting Chen as saying that "the sovereignty dispute should be replaced with environmental protection and depletion of resources should be replaced with sustainable ecology," Yeh said all countries concerned should seek a peaceful solution through dialogue.
The Spratlys consist of about 100 barren islets, reefs and atolls dotting the world's busiest shipping lanes in the South China Sea.
Vietnam, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei each claim all or part of the low-lying islands, believed to be rich in oil, gas and fish stocks.
Taiping's only inhabitants are several dozen Taiwanese troops stationed there. Taiwanese forces have built medical facilities on the island for soldiers and passing sailors, and have installed weather and environmental surveillance equipment.
China and Vietnam clashed diplomatically over the island group in 1988 and 1992. Other countries have engaged in low-level skirmishes over their own claims. China and Vietnam agreed last month to handle their disputes over the islands through negotiations and pledged to safeguard peace in the South China Sea.
The Philippines representative to Taiwan, Antonio Basilio, said recently that the Philippines "will continue to enhance its ties with Taiwan," downplaying controversy over the disputed Spratly Islands.
Basilio expressed concern over the visit but said Taiwan would remain a very important economic partner of the Philippines.
Noting that the Philippines and Taiwan are in the final stage of negotiations for an "Economic Corridor," Basilio expressed confidence that the venture would help Taiwanese businesses tap markets in Southeast Asia once ASEAN implements a free trade agreement, from which Taiwan is excluded.
The Economic Corridor, based on a memorandum of understanding signed on Dec. 6, 2005, aims at linking the Subic and Clark Special Economic Zones in the Philippines with the Economic Processing Zones in Taiwan.
Basilio said that if Taiwanese businesses meet the "local content" criteria of the Philippines, their products will be considered products of the Philippines and will therefore be eligible for duty-free treatment in ASEAN.
He said that Subic Bay and Clark were working hard to improve infrastructure, with the hope that the plan can be accomplished later this year.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS