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Taiwan: No to militarization of South China Sea


Saying that the South China Sea conflict should be resolved peacefully, Taiwan on Friday said it will not support any militarization of contested islands — a virtual swipe at Chinese activities in the disputed territory.

"We always advocate that South China Sea should be solved peacefully," Taiwan Rep. Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin said in a press briefing in Manila.

"We should have peaceful dialogue and discussion and we should have joint development, joint exploration, and turn the conflict in the South China Sea into a peaceful, win-win situation."

Lin appealed to all claimants of disputed islands in the South China Sea to maintain peace in the region and protect their "common economic prosperity" while respecting each other's sovereignty.

"Based on this concept, Taiwan is not supportive of any militarization of the island. We would like to appeal to all the claimants we should keep South China Sea as a peaceful region for all the country to have our common economic prosperity. I want sovereignty over this region [to be] respected," Lin said.

Taiwan is one of the claimant states in the South China Sea dispute and has expressed alarm in the past week over China's recent military activity around the self-ruled island.

China announced on Wednesday the installation of rocket launchers on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands to ward off Vietnamese military combat divers, spurring criticism for their increased militarization of the disputed islands.

Philippine Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio warned on Friday that China's installation of rocket launchers was the start of their militarization of the island.

Carpio last week said allowing China to finish building military facilities in Scarborough Shoal would mean a "game over" for the Philippines and other countries disputing their territory as the shoal is the "missing piece" China needs to claim the entire South China Sea.

President Rodrigo Duterte himself said he wants to see the benefits of such a partnership before he signs off on any such activity in the disputed territories. —KBK, GMA News

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