Taiwan sets up airborne unit for Spratlys

**xinhui** · 28 May 12,, 04:00

Taiwan sets up airborne unit for Spratlys | Inquirer Global Nation

Taiwan sets up airborne unit for Spratlys
Agence France-Presse
3:16 pm | Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s defence ministry said Wednesday that it has formed a special airborne unit capable of scrambling to the contested Spratly islands in just hours, as tensions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) mounted.

The unit has been set up under a plan named “airborne fast response and maritime support” which was unveiled for the first time in a report by the ministry to parliament, officials said.

No details of the unit, such as its size, were released to the public, but local media said that if needed, it can arrive on Taiping Island, the biggest in the disputed waters, onboard C-130 transport planes within four hours.

Despite protests from other countries with claims in the area, Taiwan in 2006 built a 1,150-metre (3,795-foot) runway on the fortified island, which is about 860 miles (1,376 kilometres) away from Taiwan.

Also on Wednesday, Taiwan’s coastguards said its troops stationed on Taiping will be armed with mortars with a range of 6,100 metres (20,000 feet), nearly doubling the range of mortars currently in use.

The moves come as an increasing number of Vietnamese fishing boats have been reported by Taiwan authorities to intrude into the restricted waters of Taiping.

The number of intruding Vietnamese boats surged to 106 last year, up from 42 the previous year, according to the coastguards, which added 41 Vietnamese fishing vessels had intruded into the waters in the four months to April.

Tensions in the West Philippine Sea have risen recently, with China and the Philippines locked in a maritime dispute over Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal), a reef off the Philippine coast.

The tensions began when Chinese maritime vessels blocked the Philippine navy from arresting the crews of eight fishing vessels which had entered the area.

Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim all or part of the potentially oil-rich Spratlys.

All claimants except Brunei have troops based on the archipelago of more than 100 islets, reefs and atolls, which have a total land mass of less than five square kilometres (two square miles).

**RollingWave** · 28 May 12,, 08:22

well Taiwans' sort of been the quite giant in the whole Sparty island dispute, seeing that it actually control the biggest (and only one with natural well) island... ) there's been talk fo allying with the PRC since we're actually issuing the exact same claim, except of course we're not particularly trusting of the PRC either...

**xinhui** · 28 May 12,, 08:32

Reading from some of the members of this board and other places, it is easy to view the South China Sea issue as black-and-white, good vs evil. The reality is much more is complicated.

**RollingWave** · 30 May 12,, 03:28

from a geographical POV China (be it ROC or PRC)'s claim on it is rather questionable... though obviously if we apply that standard everywhere.....

they probably need a full treaty on this eventually, but factoring in nationalistic sentiments its hard to see that done without war.

**tbm3fan** · 05 Jun 12,, 07:57

Here is a brief description of a book called "1421: The Year China Discovered America."

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China to "proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas." When the fleet returned home in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in the long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. And they colonized America before the Europeans, transplanting the principal economic crops that have since fed and clothed the world.

Given this and how she feels she owns the South China Sea region due to previous discovery does this now mean she also owns Catalina and Alcatraz too and everything in between??? God help us...

**RollingWave** · 05 Jun 12,, 10:11

that book is roundly slamed in and out of china as being ridiculas historical fantasy.

**tbm3fan** · 05 Jun 12,, 18:20

Originally Posted by RollingWave

that book is roundly slamed in and out of china as being ridiculas historical fantasy.

Was being tongue in cheek, however, glad you said that. I wonder what else is historical fantasy...

**Stitch** · 05 Jun 12,, 21:38

Originally Posted by RollingWave

that book is roundly slamed in and out of china as being ridiculas historical fantasy.

My local library has a copy of that book, though I haven't had a chance to read it yet; it's in between "The Orion Mystery: Unlocking The Secrets Of The Pyramids", and "Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About The Event That Changed History".

**Parihaka** · 06 Jun 12,, 04:34

That's all right, Polynesians discovered South America circa 700ad so really it belongs to New Zealand.

**xinhui** · 24 Jun 12,, 01:10

Taiwan protests Vietnam's claim to South China Sea islands - CNA ENGLISH NEWS

Taiwan protests Vietnam's claim to South China Sea islands
2012/06/22 20:46:45

Taipei, June 22 (CNA) Taiwan voiced strong concern and protest Friday against Vietnam's inclusion of two island groups in the South China Sea into its territory.

"Whether looked at from the perspective of history, geography or international law, the Tungsha Islands (Pratas Islands), the Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands), the Chungsha Islands (Macclesfield Islands) and the Shisha Islands (Paracel Islands), as well as their surrounding waters, are inherent parts of the territory of the Republic of China (Taiwan)," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"There is no doubt that sovereignty (over those island groups) belongs to the Republic of China," the statement read.

The ministry's statement came after Vietnam's congress recently passed a maritime law that claims sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Paracel and Spratly islands.

Taiwan does not recognize any claims to such territories made by any other country, the ministry said.

Taiwan advocates developing the resources of the area in conjunction with other countries based on the principles of shelving disputes and promoting peace and reciprocity, it added.

The Spratlys are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets and atolls, while the Paracel Islands consist of over 30 islets, sandbanks and reefs in the South China Sea.

Reportedly rich in crude oil and other natural resources, the islands and their surrounding waters are claimed either entirely or in part by Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

(By Emmanuelle Tzeng and Alex Jiang)