President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Thursday reiterated that Taiwan holds sovereignty over Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) and said that any international court ruling that downgrades the legal status of Itu Aba from an “island” to a “rock” would be illegal and would hurt Taiwanese sovereignty.
“Whether from the perspective of history, geography or international law, it is indisputable that the Spratly Islands [Nansha Islands, 南沙群島], Paracel Islands [Xisha Islands, 西沙群島], the Macclesfield Bank [Zhongsha Islands, 中沙群島] and Pratas Islands [Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島] in the South China Sea, and their surrounding waters, are inherent parts of the territory of the ROC [Republic of China],” Ma said at a seminar on South China Sea disputes and international law.
That is why when Philippine lawyers argued in an international arbitration court that Itu Aba Island was not an island, but a rock, the government felt compelled to defend the legal status of Taiwan’s territory, Ma said.
The Philippines is trying to prove that Itu Aba Island is not an island and that, therefore, smaller islets claimed by China in the region are also rocks and are not entitled to an economic exclusive zone under international law.
In its lawsuit in The Hague, the Philippines said that “some rocks” do not qualify for a claim to territorial waters in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Ma said that although Taiwan is an important claimant in the case, it has not been invited to appear before the court.
If the court accepts the argument made by Philippine lawyers, it would seriously hurt Taiwan’s sovereign rights and constitute a violation of the UNCLOS, Ma said.
Itu Aba, the largest island in the disputed Spratly archipelago, meets the description of an island as defined in Article 121 of the UNCLOS, Ma said.
Ma said he has invited Philippine officials, representatives and lawyers to visit Taiping to witness the high-quality fresh water source and the ecology.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday invited international law academics who participated in the seminar to tour Taiping.
Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim all or part of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, which are thought to be rich in oil and natural gas reserves.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS