Government efforts to transform Taiping Island, part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of China (Taiwan), into a base for humanitarian assistance are already bearing fruit.
Operation Nanyuan No. 1, a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief drill conducted by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), commenced 10:30 a.m. Nov. 29 when the National Rescue Command Center (NRCC) received a mayday from a foreign-flagged cargo ship in the waters off Taiping Island in the South China Sea. According to the distress call, a fire had broken out on the deck of the vessel, injuring several crewmembers and forcing a number of them to jump overboard.
The command center immediately dispatched air and sea rescue teams to extinguish the blaze and transport the wounded to Nansha Hospital on Taiping Island, part of the sovereign territory of the Republic of China (Taiwan). As doctors and nurses were evaluating the crewmembers, the drill took an unexpected turn when a photojournalist sent to cover the exercise developed serious gastrointestinal bleeding.
Fortunately, Nansha Hospital was equipped to handle this genuine emergency. After undergoing initial treatment at the facility, the patient was transported by an air force plane to a medical center in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City.
Nansha Hospital on Taiping Island was established in 1963. (Photo courtesy of Coast Guard Administration)
Physicians on Taiping Island also assessed the “victims” of the cargo ship blaze, determining that all but one had suffered minor injuries. The seriously wounded man accompanied the stricken photojournalist to Kaohsiung, while his shipmates received medical care at Nansha Hospital. They were then returned to their vessel once rescue personnel ensured it was seaworthy and had resupplied it with fresh water and other necessities.
CGA Minister Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) noted at a post-drill news conference that Operation Nanyuan No. 1 was the first exercise organized since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) unveiled in July 2016 the government’s plan to turn Taiping Island into a base for humanitarian assistance and supplies in the South China Sea.
Three aircraft, eight vessels and 336 people took part in the operation. In addition to the CGA and NRCC, it involved elements of several other government agencies including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Health and Welfare, National Defense and Transportation and Communications. “The drill not only demonstrated our disaster relief capability but also showcased the efficacy of the government’s mechanism for cross-agency cooperation,” Lee said.
According to Cabinet spokesperson Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), besides exhibiting Taiwan’s response readiness, the exercise highlighted the nation’s sovereignty and maritime rights over the island and its relevant waters. He added it is beyond dispute that the ROC 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.
Staffers at Nansha Hospital treat a crewman from a stricken cargo ship during Operation Nanyuan No. 1 while communicating with medical personnel at Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital through a telemedicine connection. (Photos courtesy of Coast Guard Administration)
Thriving Outpost
Taiping Island, located about 1,600 km south of Taiwan proper, is the largest naturally formed island in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands in the South China Sea. In December 1946, ROC navy frigates arrived at Taiping Island, completing the nation’s recovery of the South China Sea islands.
ROC citizens have been continuously stationed on Taiping Island for over five decades. It falls under the administrative jurisdiction of Kaohsiung City and currently has a population of more than 200 people, including CGA personnel, medical staff and scientists.
The island has served as a base for providing emergency assistance in the past. Since 2000, the CGA’s Nansha Command on Taiping Island has conducted 23 such missions, including 11 to aid foreign vessels.
Nansha Hospital, established in 1963, is staffed by two doctors, a dentist and two nurses who provide medical care for locally based personnel and in emergencies, crewmembers of vessels operating in the region. It also has a telemedicine connection to Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital so staffers can communicate with specialists when necessary.
Surveys of the groundwater, soil and vegetation provide scientific evidence that Taiping Island is a naturally formed island capable of sustaining human habitation. (Photos courtesy of Ministry of the Interior)
The fact that Taiping Island meets the criteria of an island as defined in Article 121 of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea is supported by scientific evidence. Last year, the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture invited a team consisting of local and foreign water, soil, vegetation and legal experts to survey the 0.51-square-kilometer island. After running various tests, scientists concluded that the soil on Taiping Island is naturally formed and supports indigenous vegetation as well as agricultural crops.
Assessments also showed that the groundwater from Taiping Island’s wells is potable. Personnel stationed on the island have long used the wells as a source of drinking water and for irrigation.
Without examining the evidence or inviting the ROC to participate in its proceedings, an arbitral tribunal at the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration July 12, 2016, incorrectly concluded that Taiping Island is a rock in its award on the Philippines-initiated South China Sea arbitration. This decision is not acceptable to the ROC government.
“The ROC 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,” the Office of the President stated shortly after the arbitration award was announced. Due to the fact that the ROC was not a party to this case and the arbitral tribunal did not formally invite the ROC to participate in its proceedings, nor did it solicit the ROC’s views, “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,” it added.
President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at the opening of an exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of the recovery of the South China Sea islands by the Republic of China (Taiwan) Dec. 9 in Taipei City. (Photo by Chen Mei-ling)
Actions and Principles
On July 19, Tsai unveiled the government’s four principles and five actions relating to the award. According to Office of the President spokesperson Alex Huang (黃重諺), the five actions, in addition to developing Taiping Island into a base for providing humanitarian assistance and supplies, include safeguarding the rights and safety of Taiwan fishermen operating in the South China Sea; enhancing multilateral dialogue with other relevant parties on collaboration and consensus; conducting scientific research on climate change, earthquakes, geology and meteorology; and encouraging local talents to study the law of the sea so as to strengthen the nation’s ability to deal with issues pertaining to international law.
While reiterating the ROC’s sovereignty and legal rights, the president also proposed four principles for addressing overlapping claims in the South China Sea. These comprise resolving disputes peacefully in accordance with international law and the law of the sea; including Taiwan in any multilateral dispute settlement mechanism; ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight in the region; and setting aside differences and promoting joint development.
Last December, in her opening address at a special exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the ROC’s recovery of the South China Sea islands, Tsai said that the four principles and five actions had already achieved significant results.
“Taiwan will continue to safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea based on the values of peace, humanitarianism, ecology and sustainability,” she said. “We are also 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, and to jointly conserve and develop resources in the region.”
Write to Jim Hwang at cyhuang03@mofa.gov.tw