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Taiwan fishermen excited to set foot on Taiping Island
2016/07/26 11:59:45
Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Ten crew members of three Taiwanese fishing boats set foot in the port of Taiping Island in the South China Sea on Tuesday, expressing their excitement at finally seeing the island up close.
The fishing boats left Pingtung County on July 20 for the Taiwan-held island to highlight Taiwan's sovereignty there and that it is in fact an "island" under international law after an international tribunal ruled on July 12 that it was not.
The boats docked at the port Monday night, and after requesting permission from the commander of Taiping Island, the fishermen were allowed access to the island's port area on Tuesday.
But they were forbidden from entering the island itself as it is a restricted military base, said Captain Chen Fu-sheng (陳富盛) of the Pingtung-based Man Sheng Chi No. 8, one of the three boats that reached the island.
"Since we have come to Taiping Island, we feel like we should set foot on its land, or we will have regrets," Chen told CNA in a telephone interview.
"I saw the stone stele that former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took a photo with. There are also coconut and papaya trees on the island," Chen said.
Chen said he believed Taiping Island is an island because there are trees, fresh water and chickens and cows on the island.
He said his crew has filled up bottles of fresh water and plan to bring them back to Taiwan "to give each reporter (unable to come along) a bottle."
The three fishing boats departed for Taiwan at about 11 a.m. after being replenished with 21 canisters of fresh water two cartons of canned pork and beef.
No Taiwan reporters were allowed to cover the journey. A crew from the Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV managed to go with a fourth fishing boat but the it was not allowed to dock and set anchor instead in waters off the island.
During their brief stay, two of the fishermen who landed on the island were sent to a medical station in the port to be treated for toothache and skin infection. They returned to their boats after being treated.
The flotilla of four fishing boats embarked on the journey July 20.
The fishermen's trip was taken in response to a July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
In a case brought by the Philippines against China, the court said all high-tide features in the Spratly Islands, including Itu Aba (Taiping Island), are legally "rocks" rather than islands and therefore not entitled to 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones.
Without a 200-nautical-mile economic zone, Taiwanese fishermen could end up having a much smaller area in the South China Sea in which to operate.
(By Kuo Chih-hsuan and Christie Chen)
Lawmakers visit Taiping Island to reaffirm ROC sovereignty
Publication Date: July 20, 2016
Source:Taiwan Today
View attachment 320722 Legislators pose in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung Airport July 20 as they prepare to depart for Taiping Island in the South China Sea to reaffirm the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) sovereignty in the region. (CNA)
Legislators from the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and the Internal Administration Committee of the Legislative Yuan, the nation’s highest lawmaking body, visited Taiping Island in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands July 20 to reassert the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) sovereignty following the recent release of an award rendered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Philippines-initiated South China Sea Arbitration.
Lawmakers Chen Ting-fei, Lo Chih-cheng, Tsai Shih-ying and Wang Ting-yu of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, as well as Chiang Chi-chen, Hsu Chih-jung, Huang Chao-shun and Lu Yu-ling from the main opposition Kuomintang, flew from southern Taiwan’s Pingtung Airport to Taiping Island on a military transport aircraft.
During a roughly two-hour visit, the legislators inspected a number of facilities on the island, including its satellite and solar power equipment and weather station. “Taiping Island is absolutely not a rock, as described by the arbitral tribunal, and is in fact an island,” said the KMT’s Chiang, who led the team of lawmakers. “The ROC has administered Taiping Island for seven decades and has continuously worked to improve the facilities on the island, which is fully capable of sustaining human life.”
DPP lawmaker Wang praised the high quality of local agricultural produce after sampling coconut milk from fruit grown on Taiping Island. He also lauded the dedication of personnel stationed there, adding “there can be no question that Taiping Island is an inherent part of the ROC’s sovereign territory.”
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.
The award has produced strong reactions in Taiwan. The Office of the President, Executive Yuan and several ministries issued statements following the announcement of the award 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.
On July 13, President Tsai Ing-wen ordered ROC navy Kangding-class frigate Dihua to depart 24 hours early on a regular patrol of the South China Sea, and three days later the Coast Guard Administration dispatched a 1,000-ton cutter to the region on a mission of undetermined duration.
The Legislative Yuan issued a statement July 15 jointly drafted by the caucuses of the DPP, KMT, New Power Party and People First Party rejecting the PCA award and announcing that Taiwan remains committed to the ongoing development and administration of Taiping Island across the areas of academic research, environmental protection, infrastructure development, natural resources exploration, security, tourism, and transportation and communications.
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 UNCLOS. As such, the ROC enjoys full rights associated with territorial waters, a contiguous zone, an exclusive economic zone and a continental shelf in accordance with UNCLOS. (KTJ-CM)
By denying Taiping island status, the kangaroo court has shown that it is not an ignorant court, by a paid off and bought off one.
An ignorant decision would have made them look better.
