The ROC maintains its claims in the South China Sea based on a historical connection to a country it has been separated from since 1949.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/11
By: Bertil Lintner
The ROC maintains its claims in the South China Sea based on a historical connection to a country it has been separated from since 1949.
If there’s anything China and Taiwan can agree on, it’s that the contested scattered islands in the South China Sea are Chinese territory. But while China flexes its muscles to assert authority over the islands, making the maritime region into a geostrategic hotspot, Taiwan has no such ambitions.
When the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in July 2016 in favor of the Philippines against China’s claims, the Office of Taiwan’s president rejected the verdict in terms similar to Beijing.
The court found that China has no “historical right” based on its so-called nine-dash line map that encompasses nearly 90 percent of the South China Sea, including most of the maritime region’s islands. [FULL STORY]
