Taiwan retains territorial claims inherited from the Republic of China — Taipei Times
Taiwan officially retains a number of territorial claims inherited from the Republic of China after it moved to the island in 1949. They cover islands in the South China Sea, the Paracel Islands and the Senkaku Islands, according to a Taipei Times column.
Republic of China’s claims
Taiwan has disputes over the Spratly Islands with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei; over the Paracel Islands with Vietnam; and over the Senkaku Islands, also known as Diaoyutai, with Japan. The People’s Republic of China claims not only these territories, but also Pratas Island, Kinmen, Penghu and all of Taiwan.
In the late 1940s, the Republic of China published a map with an 11-dash line, through which it claimed sovereignty over approximately 90% of the South China Sea. According to the publication, the PRC’s current 10-dash line, which previously consisted of nine dashes, stems from these claims with minor changes.
Constitutional changes launched in 1991 separated the so-called free territory of the Republic of China from the mainland, but did not abolish claims to the South China Sea and the Senkaku Islands. Taiwan controls Itu Aba, or Taiping Island, in the Spratly archipelago, as well as Pratas Island, which is administratively assigned to Kaohsiung City’s Qijin District.
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Approaches of the leading parties
The columnist notes that Chinese nationalism has historically been an important component of the Kuomintang, while the Democratic Progressive Party was formed on the basis of Taiwanese nationalism and the democratic movement. In 2013, the administration of then-President Ma Ying-jeou signed a fisheries agreement with Japan that gave Taiwan access to part of the waters near the Senkaku Islands and did not address the issue of sovereignty.
The administration of former President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 emphasized sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and the relevant waters, but did not mention the 11-dash line or “historic waters.” An arbitral tribunal rejected Chinese claims to historic rights to resources within the nine-dash line beyond the maritime entitlements provided for by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The ruling did not determine sovereignty over the islands.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that there is no territorial dispute with the Philippines over Batan Island. In the author’s view, Taiwan’s administrations avoid relinquishing inherited claims because of a possible domestic political dispute and opposition criticism. He also notes that no administration — neither the Democratic Progressive Party nor the Kuomintang — has the military capability to pursue these claims.
