SAME DIFFERENCE?Ma shook off criticism that the Republic of China’s ‘11-dash line’ echoes China’s ‘nine-dash line,’ and similarly lacks a basis in international law
Taipei Times
Date: May 28, 2015
By: Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
The Republic of China’s (ROC) claim over the disputed South China Sea conforms
President Ma Ying-jeou, front, does a set of 40 push-ups with members of the Republic of China Marine Corps 66th Marine Brigade yesterday morning after staying overnight at their base in Taoyuan. Photo: CNA
with international law, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday, adding that critics of the claim who say it is identical to that of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have “not an ounce of common sense.”
After Ma on Tuesday proposed the “South China Sea peace initiative,” the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) demanded more clarity to ensure compliance with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and questioned whether Ma intends to join with China in asserting the claim.
The concerns voiced by the DPP were similar to views repeatedly expressed by some former US officials and academics that Taiwan should clarify its position on the demarcation line, known as the “11-dash line,” used to lay its claim to the entire South China Sea, as they said that the assertion has no basis in international law.
China’s claim to the South China Sea is demarcated similarly by the “nine-dash line.”
Ma rejected the DPP’s criticism yesterday, when he received international guests who attended the International Law Association and American Society of International Law Asia-Pacific Research Forum in Taipei on Tuesday. [FULL STORY]
