President Ma Ying-jeou is encouraging the Philippines to send a representative to visit the Taiping Island. Ma was speaking Thursday while receiving former Philippine president Fidel Ramos in Taipei.
The South China Sea island is administered by Taiwan but claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, and China. In a case being heard by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Philippines argues that the island is actually a rock.
A rock does not entitle its owner to territorial waters or maritime economic zones under international law. A key difference between a rock and an island is an island’s ability to support human life and economic activity. Ma told Ramos that the island is an island by international law and not a rock.
"After foreign reporters visited the island on March 23, I formally extended an invitation to the Philippines to send a representative or a lawyer to visit the island," Ma said. "I think there are some misunderstandings, perhaps because they have never been [to the island]. I also welcome the five arbitrators involved in the matter to pay a visit in person and to see the island’s potential to support human life for themselves."