Want China Times
Date: 2015-08-07
By: CNA

Taiwan’s ongoing construction on Taiping Island in the South China Sea is for the

Construction of a wharf on Taiping Island in November 2014. (Photo/CNA)

purposes of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and environmental protection, a Taiwanese foreign affairs official said Thursday.

Facilities being built on Taiping and the deployment of the Taiwanese coast guard to the Taiwan-controlled island are for humanitarian assistance and environmental protection purposes, not to strengthen the country’s military presence in the disputed region, said Christine Hsueh, director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of North American Affairs, at a news briefing.

Her remarks came in response to questions on the United States’ recent call for a halt to reclamation, construction and aggressive actions that could further heighten tensions in the South China Sea.     [FULL  STORY]