MOFA reaffirms sovereignty over Spratlys

The MOFA statement came after the two chambers of the Philippine legislature — the Senate and House of Representatives — passed bills Jan. 28 and Feb.2, respectively, to annex some isles and reefs of the Spratly Islands (better known as Nansha in Chinese) and Macclesfield Bank Islands (known locally as Jhongsha) as part of the Philippines' territory.

The MOFA stated that Taiwan's sovereignty claim is beyond doubt and challenge, stressing that all four groups of islands in the South China Sea — Nansha, Jhongsha, Dongsha (Pratas) Islands and Sisha (Paracel) Islands — and their surrounding waters are Taiwan's territoriesfromahistorical,

geographical,factualand international law perspective.

The ministry further said the ROC government will not recognize any move by any other country that occupies or claims sovereignty over any of the four island groups.

Moreover, the MOFA called on the Philippines to negotiate with Taiwan on the South China Sea sovereignty dispute under the principles and in the spirit of the United Nations Charter, the U.N. convention on the Law of Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea to resolve the conflicting claims peacefully.

The Spratlys consist of about 180 barren islets, reefs and atolls dotting the world's busiest shipping lanes in the South China Sea. Vietnam, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei each claim all or part of the low-lying islands, believed to be rich in oil, gas and fishery resources.

Taiwan's effective jurisdiction includes the Dongsha Islands and Taiping Island in the Spratlys.

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