Taiwan Today
Date: March 24, 2016
ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said March 23 that Taiping Island is an island from all
perspectives, and claims by the Philippines government in an international arbitration tribunal that it is a rock are groundless and without merit.
“Taiping Island can sustain human habitation, has an economic life of its own and fully meets the definition of an island as laid out in Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Ma said.
“In addition to 12 nautical miles of territorial waters, the ROC is entitled to claim a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and a continental shelf.”
The president made the remarks while addressing members of the international media at ROC Air Force Songshan Base Command upon their return from a one-day trip to Taiping Island in the South China Sea arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Ma, Taiping Island possesses rich natural resources such as fertile soil, fresh water and diverse flora and fauna, with documented history of human activity dating from centuries ago. [FULL STORY]