China, Taiwan scholars brace for tribunal ruling on S. China Sea
Chang Kuo-wei and Staff Reporter 2015-10-11 09:14 (GMT+8)
A temporary wharf under construction on Taiping island. (Photo/China Times)
Chinese scholars have been visiting Taiwan looking for cooperation with Taiwanese scholars on addressing territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Chinese scholars attended an international closed-door academic seminar in Taipei on Oct. 7 and 8 on the development and implications of an arbitration case on the South China Sea currently proceeding in the Netherlands.
The initiative comes as the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague is expected to give its first ruling on the Philippines' case against China's activities in the South China Sea in the next few weeks, which could strike a blow at China's sovereignty claims in the region.
The Arbitral Tribunal will decide on the legality of China's "nine-dashed line" claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Philippines and China are signatories to the agreement.
The Taipei seminar, attended by a number of scholars across the Taiwan Strait and from several other countries, was aimed at exploring the possibility of cross-strait cooperation in response to a possibly unfavorable ruling to the two sides' claim over the South China Sea and discussing potential responses.
UNCLOS parties have agreed to a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from each signatory's territory, including islands. China's historically based nine-dashed line, which it uses to justify its activities in the sea area, are based on the land formations in the South China Sea being considered as islands.
But if the court finds that even Taiping Island — the biggest natural land mass in the South China Sea — is not an island but rather a reef or rock, which do not qualify for EEZ rights under UNCLOS, it could also hurt Taiwan's sovereignty claim over the sea area, said Liu Fu-kuo, an international relations professor at National Chengchi University, one of the seminar's conveners.
If such a ruling is handed down, China is expected to adopt a stronger attitude toward the issue and could exacerbate the already tense relations between China and the Philippines.
It could also hurt relations between Taipei and Manila because of differences over Taiping Island, which is held by Taiwan.
Chinese scholars see this convergence of interests as an opportunity for cooperation between Taipei and Beijing on the issue should the court deliver an unfavorable ruling.
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