The Strategic Significance of the Taiwan-Japan Maritime Affairs Dialogue
Taiwan and Japan's shared problems and interests as fellow maritime countries could help the two sides to deepen their “quasi maritime alliance partnership.”
Category: Taiwan
Okinotori: A New Beginning for Taiwan-Japan Maritime Dialogue
Fishing disputes between Taiwan and Japan facilitate preventative diplomacy
Taipei’s Risky Agreement with Beijing on Okinotorishima
Taiwan challenges Japan’s claim to an exclusive economic zone in order to protect security and fishing interests
Has Taiwan Implicitly Clarified the U-Shaped Line?
Taiwan faces pressure to define the legal character of the U-shaped line, the predecessor of the nine dash line.
Podcast: Itu Aba and Taiwan’s Amicus Brief
Taiwanese influence arbitration in the South China Sea
Is There Drinkable Water and Topsoil on Itu Aba?
I visited Itu Aba, or Taiping Island in Chinese, on December 12 alongside a group of high-ranking Taiwanese government officials to attend the opening ceremonies for new piers and a lighthouse. It was my fourth visit to the island. These visits provided me an opportunity to answer for myself the following questions being asked of […]
A Tour of Itu Aba Island
Itu Aba/Taiping Island is the largest naturally-formed feature in the disputed Spratly Islands and the only one occupied by the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its legal status has become a topic of heated debate as the Philippines has argued before an arbitral tribunal at The Hague that Itu Aba cannot sustain human habitation or independent […]
An Interview with Shen Lyu-shun, Representative of the Republic of China to the United States
Shen Lyu-shun, representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the United States, sits down with AMTI director Gregory Poling to discuss the recent visit of Interior Minister Chen Wei-zen to Itu Aba, or Taiping Island, Taiwan stance on the Philippines’ arbitration case against China, and Taipei’s South China Sea strategy.
The Japan-Taiwan Fishery Agreement: Strategic Success, Tactical Failure?
Japan and Taiwan concluded a civil fishery agreement in April 2013. It took 17 years to conclude the agreement with occasional interruption of the negotiations. The agreement covers the waters south of 27 degrees north latitude and north of the Yaeyama Islands, excluding the territorial seas around the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyutai) Islands, over which both […]
August 1945: A Snapshot of American Maritime Strategy in the Pacific
When Japan surrendered 70 years ago this month, the United States stood supreme in the Pacific. Only the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy had surface combatants that could roam freely from the Indian Ocean to the East China Sea and these remained a fraction of the massive “Big Blue Fleet” the U.S. Navy had […]
Taiwan’s Response to the Philippines-PRC South China Sea Arbitration
On December 8, 2014, the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands deposited with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Registry for the South China Sea arbitral proceedings, a Note Verbale. The PCA was asked to forward the Position Paper of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Matters of Jurisdiction in the […]
Taiwan’s Evolving Position in the South China Sea— And Why Other Actors Should Take Notice
Taiwan, along with China and four Southeast Asian countries, is a claimant in the South China Sea, though this fact is sometimes overlooked, despite it occupying the largest natural land feature in the South China Sea (Taiping Island or Itu Aba). On paper, Taiwan and China appear to be making substantially the same claims. The […]
Taiping Island: An Island or a Rock under UNCLOS
In its Memorial and supplemental information submitted to the arbitral tribunal in The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China, the Philippines argues that all features in the Spratly archipelago are incapable of sustaining human habitation or economic life of their own. Even the largest feature in the Spratlys – Taiping Island […]
Taiwan’s Defense Spending: The Security Consequences of Choosing Butter over Guns
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) announced on March 4 that it would raise its defense budget by 10.1 percent in 2015, which continues an almost unbroken pattern of double-digit annual increases over the past two decades. Meanwhile, defense spending by the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, which faces an ever-growing military threat from […]
Taiwan’s Development Work on Taiping Island
On February 7, 2014, Taiwan began development work on Taiping Island (Itu Aba), the largest of the Spratly archipelago, which has been under its control since 1956. It is also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, and mainland China. Taiwan’s development project comes in two parts and includes the construction of two new piers and improvements […]
Construction in the South China Sea: A Comparative View
Much has been written and reported on China’s recent land reclamation and mass construction activities in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, which raise alarm about Chinese plans to alter the status quo in the South China Sea. Of course, Chinese and even Taiwanese officials and scholars have put forward complaints that it is unfair to […]
KMT- DPP South China Sea Debate
Taiwan’s local elections of 2014 were held on November 29 and elected 6 municipal mayors and 16 county magistrates. The KMT (Kuomintang, Nationalist Party), Taiwan’s ruling party, won only 6 out of the 22 local seats and gained just 40.7 percent of the vote. Jiang Yi-huah, Taiwan’s premier, resigned after election. President Ma Ying-jeou also […]
Fiery Cross Reef and Strategic Implications for Taiwan
According to a satellite imagery reported by IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is building an airstrip on of Fiery Cross Reef. The United States, Philippines, and Vietnam have all voiced official objections to PRC activities. Unsurprisingly, PRC officials dismiss these criticisms, arguing that Fiery Cross Reef development is intended to […]