Strategic Regions in 21st Century Power Politics - Zones of Consensus and Zones of Conflict

Taiwan’s Policy towards the South China Sea

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Islands”.^14 However, it is subject to interpretation as to which country
succeeded Japan in claiming sovereignty over the above-mentioned
territory.
The control over these islands was seen as important in Taipei. The
islands were placed under the jurisdiction of the municipal government in
Kaohsiung in the 1990s. In the last decade of the twentieth century,
Taiwan maintained Marine Corps troops, a radar station, a meteorological
center, a power plant, a library, and an activities center on Taiping.^15 In
1992, the Ministry of National Defense declared its right to protect the
restricted sea and air zones of the ROC on Taiwan. In a public
announcement formally released by the Presidential Office on October 7,
1992, the Ministry of National Defense declared a 24-nautical-mile
restricted sea zone surrounding Taiwan and islands under ROC jurisdiction,
i. e. prohibiting foreign aircraft and vessel entry without permission. For the
Pratas and Spratly Islands, however, a 4,000-meter restricted sea zone and
6,000-meter restricted air zone was announced.^16
On April 13, 1993, Taiwan (the Executive Yuan) approved the so-
called South China Sea Policy Guideline,^17 which established five major
objectives for the area:

1. Safeguarding the ROC’s sovereignty over the four island groups
   in the South China Sea,


2. Strengthening development and management in the disputed area,


3. Promoting cooperation among the littoral states involved in the
   disputes,


4. Peacefully resolving conflicts arising over the South China Sea,
   and


5. Protecting the area’s ecology.

In 1998, Taiwan adopted a Law on the Territorial Sea and the
Contiguous Zone of the Republic of China and a Law on the Exclusive
Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf. Both laws are, generally
speaking, consistent with the UNCLOS, but none specifically mention the
Pratas or the Spratlys.^18

(^14) Emphasis added by the author. Treaty of Taipei, April 28, 1952.
(^15) Peng, “ROC Will Protect its Air and Sea Zones.”
(^16) Peng, “ROC Will Protect its Air and Sea Zones.”
(^17) Song, “Recent Developments in the South China Sea: Taiwan’s Policy,
Response, Challenges and Opportunities.”
(^18) See Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (promulgated on Jan
21, 1998), Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf (promulgated on
Jan 21, 1998). A U.S. Department of State’s analysis concludes that Taiwan’s Law