Government steadfast on Taiping Island scientific research

2016/07/26

The Ministry of Science and Technology is pressing forward with scientific studies on Taiping Island in response to the award rendered July 12 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the South China Sea Arbitration initiated by the Philippines.

“The ministry will continue scientific research in the South China Sea,” MOST Minister Yang Hung-duen said at an interview with the Central News Agency July 22 in Taipei. “We will also share the results of all such endeavors with neighboring countries.”

According to the minister, current MOST research on Taiping Island focuses on ecology, marine weather and meteorology. He said he hopes more scholars in social and natural sciences will take part in these activities in order to fully explore and document the history of the island, as well as its rich ecosystem.

In addition to an existing weather observation station, Yang said MOST will dispatch experts to Taiping Island to study the possibility of installing additional equipment and conducting atmospheric studies on a broader scale.

MOST’s approach is in line with one of the five actions unveiled by President Tsai Ing-wen as part of government response to the arbitration award during her first-ever National Security Council meeting held July 19 at the Office of the President in Taipei.

Under the action, MOST and related agencies will invite international scholars to Taiping Island to conduct scientific research on climate change, earthquakes, geology and meteorology.

The other four actions are stepping up patrol missions to safeguard the rights and safety of Taiwan fishermen operating in the South China Sea; enhancing multilateral dialogue with other relevant parties on collaboration and consensus; collaborating with global organizations to develop Taiping Island into a base for providing humanitarian aid and supplies; and encouraging more local talents to study maritime law so as to strengthen the nation’s preparedness in response to international legal issues.

Comprising numerous decisions, the July 12 award classified Taiping Island 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.

Taiping Island, with an area of 0.51 square kilometers, is the largest naturally formed island in the Nansha (Spratly) 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 the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. 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=246472&ctNode=2194&mp=9)