ROC embassies, missions state stance on South China Sea award

2016/07/22

An op-ed campaign rejecting the recent award rendered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines is underway by the embassies and missions of the Republic of China (Taiwan) around the world.

To date, a total of 33 letters to the editor produced by Taiwan’s overseas offices were published by news outlets in Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania, including The Washington Post in the U.S., National Post in Canada and Die Tageszeitung in Germany.

Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. said in a letter published July 18 by The Washington Post, “Taiwan does not accept the international tribunal’s decision.” The letter read “The Republic of China (Taiwan) reiterates its firm position that it is entitled to all rights over the South China Sea islands and their relevant waters in accordance with international law and the law of the sea.”

In another carried July 14 by the National Post, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada Representative Wu Rong-chuan wrote that the PCA decisions impinge on the interests of the ROC, especially with regard to the status of Taiping Island. “The award is unacceptable to the government of the ROC and has no legally binding force on it.”

Both letters called for the peaceful resolution of disputes through multilateral negotiations, stressing that the ROC government is willing to work with all other relevant parties on the basis of equality to advance peace and stability in the region.

Comprising numerous decisions, the July 12 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 around Taiping Island.

The award has evoked strong reactions in Taiwan. The Office of the President, Executive Yuan, Legislature and several ministries immediately issued statements reaffirming the ROC is entitled to all rights over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters in accordance with international law and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. These statements have generated widespread international media coverage.

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=246407&ctNode=2194&mp=9)