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Taiwan Fishing Flotilla to Arrive at Taiping Island Today

icon2016/07/25
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 Taiwan Fishing Flotilla to Arrive at Taiping Island Today

 Sources: All Taipei newspapers

 July 25, 2016

A flotilla of Taiwan fishing vessels, organized by fishermen from Pingtung County, began a voyage to Taiping Island on July 20 to reassert the Republic of China’s (ROC) sovereignty over the island and surrounding waters in the South China Sea. They are expected to arrive at Taiping Island this afternoon. 

Yesterday afternoon, a 1,000-ton cutter Taoyuan of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) “finally” appeared in the vicinity of the fishing boats to remind them to avoid the territorial waters of the Philippines. A CGA official on board the cutter told fishermen that the cutter would escort them to Taiping Island, raising the morale of the fishermen. 

Chen Fu-sheng (陳富盛), leader of the fishing boat flotilla, stated that when the fishermen embarked on the journey to reassert ROC sovereignty and safeguard fishing rights, he had hoped that the government would offer them assistance. However, Chen noted that they felt “they had been let down by the DPP government” as they had not spotted any CGA cutters until yesterday, adding that the CGA cutter Taoyuan’s support was “better late than never.” 

With regard to the fishermen’s attempt to set foot on Taiping Island, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) noted that since the island was a restricted military area, anyone intending to land on the island needed to apply to the MND for permission 45 days before a scheduled voyage. A CGA official stated that the fishermen could only dock without landing on Taiping Island for replenishment of supplies or in case of an emergency; otherwise, they needed to abide by the Defense Ministry’s rules. 

Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), director of the KMT’s Chapter in Pingtung County, noted that President Tsai Ing-wen had recently announced that the DPP administration planned to turn Taiping Island into an emergency and rescue center, so the government should allow the fishermen to dock for fresh water and other supplies. DPP legislator Chung Chia-ping also stated that the DPP administration should let the fishermen set foot on Taiping Island out of humanitarian considerations. 

Lo Chiang-fei (羅強飛), a spokesman of the fishing flotilla, stressed that the fishermen merely needed fresh water to prove that Taiping Island was indeed an “island” with fresh water, and they did not have any other political motivations.

 

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