Tsai sends off ROC navy frigate on South China Sea patrol

2016/07/14

President Tsai Ing-wen attended the send-off of Republic of China (Taiwan) navy Kangding-class frigate Dihua July 13 in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, having ordered its departure 24 hours early on a patrol of the South China Sea following the award rendered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

“This ship represents the ROC, and the uniforms of the crew members symbolize the responsibility entrusted by the citizens to defend the rights of the nation,” Tsai said while addressing the crew onboard the ship. “Because of the new changes in the South China Sea, this patrol has taken on great significance.”

According to the president, the award in the South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines is a serious infringement on the rights of the ROC over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters.

“It has always been the position of the government that disputes over South China Sea should be settled in a peaceful manner through multilateral consultation,” Tsai said. “The country is committed to promoting regional peace and stability with all interested parties through equal negotiations.”

The ROC is entitled to all rights over the South China Sea Islands and their relevant waters in accordance with international law and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The arbitral tribunal did not formally invite the ROC to participate in its proceedings, nor did it solicit the ROC’s views, the Office of the President said in a July 12 statement.

“The ROC government does not accept any decisions that undermine the rights of the ROC, and declares that they have no legally binding force on the ROC.”

Comprising numerous findings, the award classified Taiping Island in the Nansha (Spratly Islands) as a rock and not an island. This would call into question the ROC’s rightful claim to a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone on Taiping Island.

Taiping Island, with an area of 0.51 square kilometers, is the largest naturally formed island in the Nansha Islands. It can sustain human habitation and an economic life of its own, and meets the criteria of an island as defined in Article 121 of UNCLOS. Therefore, the ROC enjoys full rights associated with territorial waters, a contiguous zone, an exclusive economic zone, and a continental shelf in accordance with UNCLOS.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=246186&ctNode=2194&mp=9)