In the past week, lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have been debating whether President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should visit Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) to reinforce Taiwan’s sovereignty claim before she steps down from office in May.
Whether the head of state visiting the outpost would be in Taiwan’s national interest is questionable. Why the KMT would choose to push Tsai to visit at this time is even more questionable.
Located 1,500km southwest of Kaohsiung, Itu Aba is the largest of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), a disputed archipelago of more than 100 small islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The island hosts a few structures and about 200 members of the coast guard who hold defense drills regularly. It is also claimed by China, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Since Taiwan in January completed a major maintenance and dredging project, which would allow larger vessels, up to 4,000-tonne patrol frigates, to dock at the wharf on the island, there had been calls by legislators for Tsai to attend the wharf reopening ceremony on Monday to reassert the nation’s sovereignty.
As the president did not attend the ceremony, the KMT legislative caucus on Tuesday urged her to visit the island before the end of her second term on May 19. Its caucus convener, Fu Kun-chi , accused Tsai of “chickening out” like a turtle huddled up inside its shell, and its legislators said that Tsai and the DPP do not dare to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee co-convener, KMT Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), on Tuesday said the committee has arranged to visit and inspect the island on May 16.
They also cited former presidents Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) and Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) visits to the island before stepping down from office in urging Tsai to do the same.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Wednesday reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereignty over the island, but cited the recent dangerous standoff between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, adding that Taiwan “must consider how to use peaceful means to resolve the South China Sea issue, not letting others think we are creating difficulties.”
National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) on Thursday also advised against the visit at this time, raising concerns that the trip might be perceived by other countries as intensifying the already tense geopolitical situation, and poses potential security risks to the head of state, as Chinese military aircraft and warships have reportedly been shadowing non-Chinese vessels and aircraft in the disputed waters.
China Coast Guard vessels have been reported repeatedly trying to harass and block Philippine resupply vessels in the South China Sea, including using water cannons and causing collisions, since December last year, with the latest collision reported by Manila yesterday morning.
While it is unwise to stir up unnecessary conflict in the region, it is worth noting that since the Taiwanese government established a garrison on Itu Aba in 1956, Chen and Ma are the only two presidents who have visited the island.
The move could not have had any impact on the ongoing South China Sea tribunal in The Hague at that time, as Itu Aba is viewed technically as a rock and not an island, and therefore not subject to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
It is worth questioning why KMT lawmakers such as Ma Wen-chun are all of a sudden eager to “defend the nation and claim sovereignty,” when they continue to keep quiet as Chinese aircraft and vessels increasingly cross the Taiwan Strait median line.
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