The Presidential Office yesterday said that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) does not rule out visiting Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), amid reports that he plans to make a visit next month.
“President Ma has repeatedly declared Taiping Island to be part of our country’s territory. Of course we do not rule out such a visit,” Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said.
Chen made the remarks hours after the Chinese-language Apple Daily published an article quoting an unnamed national security source as saying that Ma is to board a C-130H transport aircraft on Dec. 12 to visit the island.
The report said that during the visit, Ma is to reiterate the nation’s sovereignty over the island and his South China Sea peace initiative, which was proposed by the president in May, and calls on all claimants to put aside their differences and jointly develop the resources in the area.
Ma would also preside over a ceremony to mark the completion of a new pier on the island if it is finished next month as scheduled, the article said.
The source was quoted as saying that Ma had originally planned to make the visit last month, but postponed the trip to avoid disrupting his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Taiwan has controlled Itu Aba — in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) — since Republic of China forces began to garrison the island in 1956.
Coast guard personnel maintain security on the island, being deployed after the Marine Corps were withdrawn in 1999.
Taiwan claims the entire Spratly chain.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) at a routine press conference yesterday declined to comment on the report, saying he had not received any information regarding the issue.
At a ceremony in Taipei to celebrate the signing of the Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters between Taiwan and the Philippines, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said he could not comment on the issue, as he would not be involved in the planning of such a visit.
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