Taiwan’s Policy towards the South China Sea
73This shift in approach caused concerns in Beijing. Since Taiwan
started to emphasize cooperation in creating the “Spratly commons,” the
PRC started to fear that Taiwan was in fact departing from the previous
policy in which Taipei and Bejing made identical claims to the South
China Sea. Any attempts by Taipei to act as an independent claimant in
the South China Sea would create a backlash in Beijing, which would see
such moves as a contradiction of Chinese interests in the South China Sea
and possibly as Taiwan’s push for independence.
Since late 2005, the responsibility for dealing with the South China Sea
was transferred to Taiwan’s National Security Council, thus elevating the
issue’s priority for the then administration of Chen Shui-bian. The
government then decided to build harbor facilities on both the Taiping and
the Pratas. President Chen also pushed to increase Taiwan’s presence on
Taiping Island by building an airstrip.^23 His visit to Taiping Island on the
occasion of the runway completion in 2008 can be seen as a clear assertion
of sovereignty, as he became the first president to ever set foot on the
island.
Figure 5-5: The runway built by Taiwan on Taiping Island, largest of the Spratly
Islands
The decision to strengthen Taiwan’s position on Taiping Island was
clearly motivated by the increasing assertiveness of Beijing vis-a-vis
Taiwan. Given Chen Shui-bian’s pro-independence rhetoric, the relations
between Beijing and Taipei were very tense. In response to Chen’s push
for a referendum in 2004, on March 14, 2005, the National People’s
Congress adopted the so-called Anti-Secession Law, which threatened
Taiwan with the use of non-peaceful means in case it was seen as moving
(^23) The 1,150 m long runway was completed in 2008.