《TAIPEI TIMES》Chinese maritime expansion must be countered: official

OPEN WATER: Experts called for more freedom of navigation transits in the Taiwan Strait, as concrete actions are needed to stop Beijing from expanding its reach

By Wu Che-yu and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling （管碧玲） yesterday called on regional partners to work together to counter Chinese maritime expansionism.

It is the overwhelming international consensus that the stability of Taiwan is an important factor in global prosperity, she told the International Conference on Sea Lane Security in a prerecorded video.

The conference in Taipei has gathered security experts and officials from Taiwan, the US, the UK, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, India and the Philippines to discuss how new technologies can aid monitoring and response capabilities at sea, in addition to international cooperation.

Separately, experts yesterday called for more freedom of navigation transits in the Taiwan Strait to counter Chinese incursions, after China’s People’s Liberation Army （PLA） reportedly sailed a navy ship east of the Taiwan Strait’s median line to monitor a passing Turkish corvette.

Chinese-language RW News on Tuesday reported that the Ada-class Turkish Navy corvette TCG Kinaliada during a northward transit through the Taiwan Strait was monitored by a PLA vessel sailing east of the median line.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning （毛寧） on Monday criticized a similar transit by the HNLMS Tromp of the Royal Netherlands Navy as destabilizing to peace and stability in the region.

As the Taiwan Strait is now a geopolitical hotspot, there is a need to “clearly and forcefully” demonstrate shared values such as the right to freedom of navigation, Kuma Academy chief executive officer Ho Cheng-hui （何澄輝） said yesterday.

If concrete actions are not taken, China and other authoritarian states would be emboldened to expand their reach, he said.

A significant portion of the Taiwan Strait is open water that has always served as an important trade route, necessitating the presence of navy ships to maintain the rules of free navigation, he added, giving the example of the Red Sea, where various nations have sent navy vessels in an attempt to restore peace.

There is a difference between calling for freedom of navigation and practicing it, Tamkang University Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies director Li Da-jung （李大中） said.

At the moment it is mostly the US that is sending ships through the Taiwan Strait, as Washington does not fear reprisals from Beijing, he said, adding that other nations are concerned about the political consequences.

Additional reporting by Cheng Ching-yi

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES