Visit by President Tsai to Taiping Island Would Bolster Taiwan's South China Sea Sovereignty Claim
United Daily News Editorial, January 29, 2024
A few months ago, American and Chinese warships had entered the waters nine nautical miles from Taiping Island, openly challenging our sovereignty. As significant construction on the island is completed, if the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen could both dispatch officials to demonstrate sovereignty and have President Tsai personally visit the island, it would increase Taiwan’s standing in the South China Sea situation to a certain extent.
U.S.-China tensions have escalated due to repeated clashes between the Philippines and Chinese coast guard ships. Japan, Australia, and even warships from Western countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have entered the South China Sea, sometimes extending into the Taiwan Strait. This is seen by Taiwan as an advantageous internationalization of the Taiwan issue. However, maintaining international maritime routes and preventing China's monopoly is essentially strategic positioning, preparing for future battles over underwater resources.
South China Sea claimant nations, including China, are also in constant conflict, expanding islands and reefs by reclaiming land. The previous claim that Taiping Island was the largest island in the South China Sea has long been overturned. Bailan Island, occupied by Vietnam near Taiping Island, has far exceeded its original size through artificial construction. While Taiwan has built an airport and a simple pier on Taiping Island for logistical purposes, keeping the scale modest, it has faced protests from neighboring countries like Vietnam regarding military activities on the island. During the Ma administration, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) even requested clarification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to imprecise responses from Coast Guard officials about the policy of stationing ships on Taiping Island during a legislative session.
During the tenure of President Chen Shui-bian from 2000 to 2008, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) did not challenge Communist China on the South China Sea until the United States actively intervened in the region. During his tenure from 2008 to 2016, President Ma Ying-jeou personally visited the island for promotion and discourse, but the Western narrative still led to the international court ruling that downgraded Taiping Island to a reef. After President Tsai took office, it adopted a compliant strategy towards the United States and has yet to visit Taiping Island. While aligning with the United States may bring immediate benefits, it is not conducive to establishing our sovereignty argument in the South China Sea in the long run.
However, in the complex dynamics of the South China Sea, where powerful nations strategize and collide, Taiwan needs to highlight its management of Taiping Island and its stance on the South China Sea. The president often serves as the most influential and attention-grabbing commentator on such matters.