Taiwan’s Policy towards the South China Sea
63multiple occasions, Taiwan was caught in the middle of tension due to
territorial disputes–most recently with the Philippines in May 2013. In
such situations, Taiwan is particularly vulnerable due to its lack of
international status, as will be demonstrated in the spat with Manila.
This paper presents the arguments Taiwan has put forth to substantiate
its claims to the islands in the South China Sea and follows the evolution
of Taipei’s stance and policy regarding the dispute. The paper shows that
Taiwan’s approach towards the South China Sea issue has been rather
restrained. Many of the steps Taiwan took vis-à-vis the areas controlled by
Taipei contributed to decreasing the potential for a conflict. However, in
recent years, we have seen the strengthening of Taiwan’s position and the
addition of some military or dual-use elements to its policy towards the
South China Sea–this being a reaction to the increasing tensions in the
South China Sea caused particularly by China’s growing assertiveness.
“Cold-Blooded Murder”: Conflict with the Philippines,
May 2013
On May 9, 2013, an incident took place about 300 kilometers southeast of
Taiwan, close to the Philippine coast. A fishing boat, Kuang Ta Hsing No.
28, got caught in a stand off with the Philippine Coast Guard. According
to the Filipino authorities, the fishing boat entered the Philippines’
territorial waters and, when approached by the Coast Guard, attempted to
run, against Coast Guard instructions. Shots were fired and the boat
owner, a Taiwanese fisherman, was killed. Once the circumstances
became known in Taiwan, a wave of angry calls for an aggressive
response emerged. A few days later, on May 12, 2013, Taipei issued a
harsh 72-hour ultimatum to Manila demanding reparations for the family
of the deceased fisherman, a formal apology from the Philippines’
president, and, last but not least, extradition of the perpetrators to stand
trial in Taiwan. In the case of non-compliance, Taiwan threatened to
withdraw the de-facto ambassador to the Philippines and, most
importantly, to suspend work permits for thousands of Filipino workers in
Taiwan (there are around 90,000 of them working mostly in the service
sector). Anti-Filipino protests, fueled by nationalism, took place in Taipei
and other cities of Taiwan.
Given the distance between Taiwan and the northern Filipino island of
Luzon, it is highly probable that the incident took place in an area where
the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of Taiwan and the Philippines
overlap. Therefore, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS), the parties in conflict should resolve their differences