President Ma Ying-jeou says Taiwan will not give up its claims of sovereignty over part of the South China Sea.
Ma was speaking Thursday at a conference, where he met Fulbright Scholars from the US studying in Taiwan and China. He was responding to a question from a scholar, who asked him whether Taiwan should give up the so-called “U-shaped line” claim. The U-shaped line refers to a demarcation line in the South China Sea that marks the borders of Taiwan’s claim. Ma said it is impossible for Taiwan to give up such territorial claims because doing so would be unconstitutional.
When asked about negative sentiment among the Taiwanese electorate, the president said while the government is continuing to push for economic growth, it is also trying to narrow the income gap and tackle spiraling housing prices. He pointed out that welfare spending has made up the biggest chunk of the country’s national budget for three years in a row.