The Democratic Progressive Party’s Department of Foreign Affairs on Saturday called for a multilateral approach to the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea.
The DPP’s reiteration of its position that issues related to the South China Sea must be addressed through a multilateral framework came following a draft agreement on the guidelines for the implementation of the Declaration of Conduct between China and ASEAN earlier this month.
“Despite several calls from China for ‘cooperation between the two sides of the strait’ on the South China Sea issue, the DPP urges President Ma Ying-jeou’s [馬英九] administration to take part in multilateral talks with all parties involved in order to serve Taiwan’s best interest and to preserve regional stability,” the statement said in English.
The statement said that when Ma served as Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister in the 1990s, he said that the two sides of the strait must set aside sovereignty differences and work together on the South China Sea issue while “dealing with outside parties in a unified way.”
“The DPP strongly opposes this proposal as we believe that bilateral talks alone will not help in resolving disputes in the region, and will send the wrong message to the international community,” the statement says, adding that disputes in the South China Sea could not be effectively resolved solely through bilateral negotiations.
“We have already seen the escalation of tensions in the region due to military exercises conducted by China, Vietnam, the Philippines and the United States,” it says. “The DPP believes that only open communication channels, through a multilateral cooperation framework, are the best solution to insure the common interests of all relevant parties and to maintain peace and stability in the region.”
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has indicated that Taiwan has its own viewpoint regarding the Spratly Islands, and it disputes Beijing’s claims over the territory, it says.
“Taiwan should not be restricted to a cross-strait bilateral framework. Only an open multilateral framework will prevent unnecessary tension or potential conflicts in the region,” it says.
Reiterating the “four core standpoints” regarding the South China Sea, the DPP said Taiwan must ensure sovereignty, peace and stability in the region, enhance multilateral cooperation and promote sustainable development.
“These points are in accordance with the Spratly Initiative proposed by the DPP government in -February 2008. The initiative proposed by the DPP advocates for environmental protection, setting aside sovereignty disputes, promotion of sustainable development versus exploiting natural resources and resolving differences through peaceful means,” it said.
The DPP statement came as the China Marine Surveillance (CMS) on Saturday commissioned the 3,000-tonne Haijian 50 surveillance vessel in Shanghai, the latest ship to join the agency’s increasingly modern and heavy fleet.
The CMS, an organ of the State Oceanic Administration, in May announced it would increase personnel, upgrade its existing fleet and acquire new surveillance ships to patrol its territorial waters over the next five years. As part of the 12th Five Year Plan approved by the State Council, 36 Haijian surveillance ships will join the CMS fleet, British defense publication Jane’s Defence Weekly reported at the time.
Last week, Chinese media also announced that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had officially launched the Yuzhao-class Type 071 Jinggangshan landing platform dock (LPD). At 19,000 tonnes, the Jinggangshan — the second Type 071 in the PLAN — is the heaviest LPD in the Chinese fleet.
Defense reports say a third Type 071 is being built.
LPDs, which can accommodate helicopters, armored vehicles, boats and soldiers, can be used in both humanitarian and war-fighting missions.
Reports said the official launch appeared to be timed to send signals as tensions continue to rise in the South China Sea.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
The Taipei Zoo on Saturday said it would pursue legal action against a man who was filmed climbing over a railing to tease and feed spotted hyenas in their enclosure earlier that day. In videos uploaded to social media on Saturday, a man can be seen climbing over a protective railing and approaching a ledge above the zoo’s spotted hyena enclosure, before dropping unidentified objects down to two of the animals. The Taipei Zoo in a statement said the man’s actions were “extremely inappropriate and even illegal.” In addition to monitoring the hyenas’ health, the zoo would collect evidence provided by the public
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
A road safety advocacy group yesterday called for reforms to the driver licensing and retraining system after a pedestrian was killed and 15 other people were injured in a two-bus collision in Taipei. “Taiwan’s driver’s licenses are among the easiest to obtain in the world, and there is no mandatory retraining system for drivers,” Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance, a group pushing to reduce pedestrian fatalities, said in a news release. Under the regulations, people who have held a standard car driver’s license for two years and have completed a driver training course are eligible to take a test
RSS