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Taiwan asserts claim to island in Spratlys

By Katrice R. Jalbuena
The Manila Times
28 June 2008

Taiwan asserted its claims to the largest of the disputed Spratly islands, while it called for better relations with two rival claimants—the People’s Republic of China and the Philippines.

“Taiwan is sovereign on the island of Taiping,” Donald Lee, the newly appointed representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) to Manila, said Friday.

“The island hosts around 200 of our coast guard personnel as well as a new airstrip, which we maintain for humanitarian reasons,” said Lee, a 26-year veteran of Taipei’s foreign ministry.

Taiping, also known as Itu Aba Island, is the largest of the islands of the Spratly chain located around 1,000 kilometers south of Taiwan and about 35 kilometers south-southwest of Philippine-occupied Loiata (Kota) Island.

Amid the shrubs, coconut trees and mangroves, some 600 Taiwanese soldiers live on the disputed island, which is fitted with a lighthouse, radio and weather stations, concrete landing jetty, two water wells and a 1,150-meter long airstrip. Pineapple was once cultivated on the island.

Taiping has been occupied by Taiwan since September 1956, four months after Filipino explorer Tomas Cloma claimed seven of the islands.

The Spratlys refer to a group of 100 reefs, islets and islands spread in over 400,000 square kilometers in the South China Sea. The islands are claimed in part or in whole by the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Forging friendships

The airstrip on Taiping was once the subject of controversy, with both Vietnam and the Philippines protesting its construction. The airstrip was completed in January and was visited in February by then President Chen Shui-Bian.

Lee said Taiwan’s newly elected President Ma Ying-Jeou has no intention to negotiate or give up Taiwan’s claim to Taiping. Ma belongs to the Kuomintang, while Chen to the rival, pro-Taiwan independence Democratic Progressive Party.

Ma’s government wants to improve relations with its neighbors, including the People’s Republic of China, Lee said.

“As far as our current position with regard to the People’s Republic of China [or PRC, which is mainland China’s official name], for now we remain intent on maintaining the status quo. We are not pushing for independence. We are not pushing for reunification,” Taipei’s representative to Manila said.

Mainland China considers Taiwan a renegade province, and the Philippines has an one-China policy that officially recognizes the government in Beijing.

“What we would like is to establish a mutual trust between us and the PRC, to co-exist in a friendly atmosphere,” Lee said. “There have already been several talks between the two governments on various issues and agreements on levels of cooperation. We would like to build on that.”

“With the recent success of the friendly overtures between the governments of the PRC and ROC [Republic of China, or Taiwan], we hope that this will also encourage more friendly relationships between other countries in Asia and around the globe,” Lee added.

“If there were countries that were reluctant to do business with Taiwan because of possibly angering China, we hope that they will now take a cue from [our] now warming relations and be open to better bilateral relations with Taiwan as well,” he said.

To that extent, Lee expressed a wish to dialogue with Beijing’s ambassador to Manila in the spirit of the “friendly atmosphere.”

Bilateral relations

“This is my first time in the Philippines,” said Lee. “I know that Taiwan and the Philippines have had a long and mutually beneficial relationship, and we want to maintain and improve this relationship.

Last year, Taiwan was the fourth-largest trading partner of the Philippines, and it was Taiwan’s ninth-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to $5.9 billion, while Taiwanese businesses invested $444 million in the Philippines.

Taiwanese businessmen are particularly attracted to Subic Bay Freeport. Lee said 79 Taiwanese factories and companies operate there, bringing in some $870 million in investments.