China's recent activities regarding the dispute over territory and resources in oceans in Asia, from the East China Sea to the South China Sea have endangered regional security among Asian states, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday, as he visited the disputed Pratas Islands, also called the Dongsha Islands (東沙島).
Taiwan will adopt peaceful means to negotiate with China over maritime issues in a bid to avoid possible armed conflict or war, Chen said.
Escorted by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), Chen yesterday inspected the main island in the chain, Dongsha Island, which is at the center of a dispute over territory and natural resources with nearby countries, including China. It was Chen's second time visiting the remote islets -- which are located to the southwest of Taiwan -- as the nation's leader. In December, 2000, he made his first inspection tour of the Pratas Islands.
PHOTO: SU YUNG-YAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen yesterday prayed at a local temple and planted trees on the island, saying that both national security and ecological preservation can be ensured by appropriate management of the Pratas Islands.
Chen said that Taiwan's national security had been threatened by an invasion of Chinese fishing boats and "oil exploration" vessels. In May, coast guard ships expelled Chinese research vessels twice within 20 days.
"With its recent rise in both economic power and military forces, China's intention to expand its oceanic territories and natural resources from the East China Sea to the South China Sea has become more obvious and caused regional tension among neighboring countries. This scenario deserves to be seriously taken into account," Chen said.
Chen said that such dispute is not unique to Taiwan, and that Taiwan will follow international law and codes of conduct to resolve problems like other oceanic countries.
"We will take peaceful means to negotiate with China on oceanic issues in a bid to avoid possible armed `intervention' or war," Chen said.
According to the CGA's information, fishing boats that invade the waters of the Pratas Islands are mostly from China's Hainan Island, Guangdong Province and Hong Kong. The ecological system in the area had become more fragile because of inappropriate activities carried out by Chinese fishing boats, such as using explosives and poison for fishing.
According to Chen, using peaceful means to resolve disputes over sovereignty and resources illustrates the government's responsibility to ensure sustainable development in the region.
Chen yesterday stressed the importance of preserving the natural resources, including fishing grounds and coral reefs, of the Pratas Islands.
Chen said he would like to promote the establishment of an oceanic national park at the Pratas Islands, turning the place to an international research center for ecological studies on tropical oceanic creatures and plants.
Taiwanese scientists have observed what they call an ecological catastrophe in the area, which could be attributed to inappropriate activities involving fishermen from neighboring countries. Used batteries dumped in the area have caused serious environmental pollution in waters. A scientific survey by the Kaohsiung-based National Sun Yat-sen University suggests that the number of types of coral in the area has dropped sharply from 137 in 1998 to 63 now.
Scientists from the Academia Sinica's Institute of Zoology said they have recorded more than 300 kinds of fish, but believe that there are more than 1,000 kinds. Although the Ministry of the Interior plans to turn the waters near the Pratas Islands into an oceanic national park, scientists said that more comprehensive ecological surveys need to be carried out as soon as possible.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
RSS