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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Ma scheduled to visit Itu Aba Island
A Kidd-class destroyer yesterday prepares to escort President Ma Ying-jeou on his planned visit to Itu Aba Island （Taiping Island） in the South China Sea. Photo: Luo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
NATIONAL TERRITORY: The Presidential Office said that it had contacted the DPP and invited president-elect Tsai Ing-wen to send an envoy, but the DPP declined the offer
/ Staff writer, with CNA
President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） is scheduled to visit Itu Aba Island （Taiping Island, 太平島） in the South China Sea today if the weather permits, Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen （陳以信） said yesterday.
Chen said that the purpose of Ma’s visit is to greet Coast Guard Administration personnel and academics stationed on the island ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
Itu Aba, which lies 1,600km south of Taiwan, is the largest natural island controlled by the Republic of China （ROC） in the disputed South China Sea.
Ma, whose second and final term as president ends on May 20, has never set foot on the island during his terms in office.
Describing the island as an inherent part of the territory of the ROC, Chen said that Ma has never ruled out a visit to the island, noting that former president Chen Shui-bian （陳水扁） made a visit.
However, the Presidential Office spokesperson failed to mention that when Chen Shui-bian announced plans to visit Itu Aba in February 2008, he was criticized by Ma, the Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） presidential candidate, saying that, as an outgoing president, Chen Shui-bian was supposed to stablize society, maintain national security and work on preparations for the transition of power.
Ma is to be accompanied by about 20 officials and academics, Chen said, but no arrangements would be made for media personnel to join the trip.
Ma is expected to hold a news conference after returning to Taipei, Chen said.
The planned visit comes as the government moves to reinforce the ROC’s sovereignty claim over the island in the wake of China’s buildup in the region and the Philippines’ case against Beijing at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Beijing claims the waters and land in the South China Sea based on a “nine-dash line” and reinforces those claims by saying the islands, reefs and atolls it considers its own have 200 nautical mile （370 km） exclusive economic zones.
The Philippines disputes those claims, arguing that under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea （UNCLOS） the atolls and reefs claimed by Beijing are nothing more than “rocks” or “sunken reefs” that can generate 12 nautical miles （22.22km） of territorial waters at best.
They are not naturally formed “islands” capable of sustaining human habitation or economic life, which are entitled to exclusive economic zones under UNCLOS, the Philippines has argued.
The case does not directly involve Taiwan, but it might have indirect implications because Taiwan also claims all of the South China Sea using a similar “nine-dash line” to China’s and has a presence on Itu Aba.
Ma has insisted on Itu Aba’s status as an “island” under the UN convention’s guidelines, writing on Facebook post last month that the island is self-sustaining, with fresh water, and vegetable and poultry farms.
An expert panel formed by the Council of Agriculture that toured the island on Friday and Saturday last week to check on its natural and agricultural environment also confirmed that it qualifies as an island.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially notified Taiwan’s diplomatic allies of the planned visit, while Presidential Office Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan （曾永權） said he has contacted the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） on Ma’s behalf to invite president-elect Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） to send an envoy on the trip.
DPP spokesman Yang Chia-liang （楊家俍） said that the party had responded that it has no plans to send a representative to take part in the visit.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
President Ma Ying-jeou, right, yesterday presents one of several awards to military officers or their family members at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Photo: CNA
