It has recently been eclipsed in size, however, by man-made islands created by China out of reefs and shoals.
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Vietnam’s top official in Taiwan said Hanoi “resolutely opposed” Mr Ma’s visit. But Mr Ma, who steps down in May, said he told the United States about his trip beforehand.
“This will surely facilitate the forging of a consensus on a wide range of future cooperation opportunities”, Ma said.
Taiwan is spending more than $100m to upgrade the island’s airstrip and build a wharf capable of allowing its 3,000-tonne coast guard cutters to dock.
However, even more noise was made about Ma’s trip from the United States and Vietnam, with Washington going so far as to call the visit “extremely unhelpful”.
Beijing, of course, was unhappy with the trip, reiterating that, “China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands”.
Ma visited the healthcare and agricultural facilities on Ba Binh and expressed his intention to improve medical services on the island for humanitarian purposes, according to a press release on Thursday by Ma’s office.
Washington, a Taiwan ally, also criticized the trip, with the State Department, calling it a “disappointment”.
“We talked about the possibility of a diplomatic way forward and Foreign Minister Wang Yi accepted the idea that it would be worth exploring whether or not there was a way to reduce the tensions and solve some of the challenges through diplomacy”, Kerry said. “Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits share the responsibility to protect the ancestral property of the Chinese nation”, said China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying yesterday, referring to the Spratlys by their Chinese name.
Members of Bayan Muna hold a picket in front of Chinese consulate in Makati on Friday April 17 to protest against China’s reclamation activities in Panganiban Reef, part of the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea.
Mr Ma’s visit follows the Jan 16 elections won by the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, which declined a request from him to send a representative along.
Though Taiwan itself has little interest in maintaining a presence on an indefensible island far from home, Tsai’s domestic opponents will insist that as President she maintain the nation’s territorial claims.
“He certainly wants to make Taiwan a player in the whole South China Sea controversy and up the ante a little bit for the succeeding government”, said Raymond Wu, managing director with Taipei-based political risk consultancy e-telligence. Last time that happened, it sparked fatal anti-China riots. The Nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Chinese civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communists. It regards Taiwan as a wayward province to be taken back by force if necessary.
But it has appeared unfazed by Taiwan’s upgrading work on Itu Aba. He also cited developments on the islet, including a 10-bed hospital and a lighthouse, saying they reinforced Taiwan’s claim of sovereignty and granted it rights over the surrounding waters.
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The island supports around 180 people, about 150 of them coastguard personnel who have had oversight of the 46-hectare (114-acre) island since 2000.
