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
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