Legislators are arranging a trip to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), part of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea, next month to assert sovereignty over the territory, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Sandy Yu (游毓蘭) said yesterday.
Concerns were raised about the situation in the South China Sea after US and Chinese warships were reported sailing 12 nautical miles (22.22km) away from the island on Nov. 3.
Further discussion was triggered after a trip by the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee and Internal Administration Committee scheduled for Thursday to inspect the progress of the defense and dock renovation projects on the island was canceled.
Photo courtesy of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang’s office
Yu yesterday said that legislators should visit the island to assert Taiwan’s territorial sovereignty, as the last time such a trip was made was in 2016.
Visiting Itu Aba Island requires taking the Air Force’s C-130 transport planes and planning a backup airport to land at in case of an emergency, she said.
Taiwan used to negotiate with the Philippines to arrange a backup airport, and that could take up to 20 days, because the two sides had not been in contact for a long time, government agencies said.
The inspection was thus delayed until next month so that agencies could reopen negotiation channels with the Philippines, she said.
In Feb. 2008, then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) visited Itu Aba Island to preside over the opening ceremony of a new airport and proposed a “Spratly Initiative,” calling for countries in the South China Sea area to set aside sovereignty disputes and cooperate to protect the Spratly Islands’ environment and resources.
After a port was constructed on the island in 2015, then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) planned to visit the island but was forced to cancel the trip due to opposition from the US.
He later visited before leaving office. During the journey, Ma reiterated the South China Sea Peace Initiative he proposed in 2015.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has not set foot on the island.
Meanwhile, a project to renovate the port on Itu Aba Island from 2020 to this year, which was approved by the Executive Yuan with a budget of more than NT$1.6 billion (US$49.46 million), was scheduled to be completed in September.
However, the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) budget for next year showed that the Cabinet had reapproved the project in July with additional funding of NT$89.23 million.
The increased funding was needed as the price index had risen sharply due to the effects of COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the CGA said in September.
The renovation plan was also adjusted to accommodate the need for better facilities on the island, which led to delays in the project, the CGA said.
The port is scheduled to be completed before March next year and become operational in April, it said, adding that there are no plans to hold an inauguration ceremony.
Asked whether a runway extension was included in the renovations, the CGA said it had not been informed of such a plan, which is within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Defense.
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