Beneficial relations exist despite the One China Policy

In response to Mr. Francisco S. Tatad’s June 24 analysis entitled “War clouds on the horizon,” the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines would like to make some clarifications.

The First Preparatory Meeting on Fisheries Cooperation between TECO and its counterpart—the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO)—was held last June 14, 2013 in Manila. The meeting has proven to be fruitful with both sides pledging to avoid the use of force or violence to prevent incidents similar to the May 9 Guang Da Xing No.28 shooting from recurring. Both parties have also agreed to meet for the second round of talks in the future.

Although the Republic of China (Taiwan) has ceased its diplomatic ties with the Philippines since 1975, our two countries have still maintained cordial and mutually beneficial relations, and have concluded a total of 27 memorandums of understanding or agreements under the TECO-MECO framework, ranging from the fields of agriculture, education, labor, tourism and health cooperation…etc. Among these bilateral agreements is the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance (AMLA) in Criminal Matters inked on April 19, 2013, which provides the legal mechanism for both countries to conduct parallel but cooperative investigation on the Guang Da Xing No. 28 shooting incident.

We would also like to point out that the Taiwan-Philippine fisheries talk is aimed at preserving and advancing the interests of our two peoples and has no connection with the One China Policy. As a matter of fact, Japan, one of the countries that adheres to the One China Policy and thus has no diplomatic ties with the ROC, has still concluded a fishery pact with Taiwan last April. As the Taiwan-Japan fishery pact has significantly eased the tensions in the East China Sea, Taiwan and the Philippines may also observe the aforementioned successful practice adopted by Taiwan and Japan to jointly transform our two countries’ overlapping waters into an “Ocean of Peace and Prosperity”.

It is also worth noting that the signing of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) by two countries or entities is not a prerequisite for these two sides to conclude a bilateral fishery agreement with each other. For instance, the United States has not been a party to the UNCLOS, but it has still reached fishery agreements with its neighboring countries by referring to the UNCLOS regulations. Therefore, although the Republic of China (Taiwan) has not signed the UNCLOS, it can still enter into the fishery agreement with another party based on mutual consent. The Taiwan-Japan fishery pact, again, serves as a good example to the aforementioned practice.

On the other hand, the One China Policy should not decrease the sovereignty rights of the Republic of China (Taiwan), as it has never curbed Taiwan’s enthusiasm for fulfilling its international responsibility. For example, Taiwan is not a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization yet, but its Flight Information Region, one of the most frequently-used (serves 1.2 million flights annually) and safest FIR in the Asia-Pacific region, has been under effective and reliable governance of ROC government based on the international laws and regulations since the establishment of the ICAO in 1947. Similarly, although Taiwan has not been accepted as a member of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, its contributions to the development of green energy and its efforts to reduce carbon emissions have been lauded by major countries, such as the United States, the European Union and Japan. As a result, Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UNFCCC mechanisms has won increasing supports from the international community.

Given the aforementioned, Taiwan would like to once again urge the Philippines to jointly fulfill our duties as responsible stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific region by actively cooperating in the expeditious resolution of the Guang Da Xing No. 28 incident. Through our two countries’ efforts, we are earnestly hoping that our bilateral relationship will be restored and that our respective national interests would be better protected.

CHANG PONG
Press Director

source:  Manila Standard