Taiwan Today

The award rendered by the tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the South China Sea arbitration, which includes Taiping Island in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands, initiated by the Philippines is completely unacceptable to the Republic of China (Taiwan) and is not legally binding on the nation, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs David Tawei Lee July 12. “There are two main reasons for this,” Lee said during a news conference at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei City. “First, the ROC is referred to as ‘Taiwan Authority of [mainland] China,’ an inappropriate designation that is demeaning to the status of the ROC as a sovereign state. “Second, Taiping Island was not originally included in the Philippines’ submissions for arbitration. But the tribunal took it upon itself to expand its authority, declaring ROC-governed Taiping Island, and other features in the Nansha Islands occupied by Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, all to be ‘rocks’ that do not generate an exclusive economic zone.” According to Lee, the arbitral tribunal did not formally invite the ROC to participate in its proceedings, nor did it solicit the ROC’s views. “Therefore, the award has no legally binding force on the ROC,” he said. The minister also described the decision as severely jeopardizing the legal status of the South China Sea islands, over which the ROC exercises sovereignty, and their relevant maritime rights. “It is beyond dispute that the ROC is entitled to all rights in accordance with international law and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea over the South China Sea islands and their relevant waters,” he added. Regarding disputes in the South China Sea, Lee called for their peaceful resolution through multilateral negotiations in the spirit of setting aside differences and promoting joint development. “The ROC is willing, through negotiations conducted on the basis of equality, to work with all states concerned to advance peace and stability in the South China Sea.” 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. The ROC recovered Taiping Island in December 1946 following World War II, and has stationed government personnel there for nearly 60 years since June 1956. (KTJ-E) Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw