Beijing untypically quiet on Taiwan drills in South China Sea

ITU ABA, South China Sea: Taiwan held rescue drills yesterday off the coast of its sole outpost in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, but the biggest claimant in the disputed area kept uncharacteristically quiet.

China and self- governed Taiwan seldom see eye to eye, but in responding to Taipei’s latest assertion of sovereignty over Itu Aba, Beijing has avoided the harsh language it often directs at other claimants to the busy waterway.

China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim parts or all of the energyrich South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually.

Taiwan and China both suffered setbacks to their claims in July, when an international tribunal ruled that China’s historic boundary, the so- called nine- dash line, was invalid, and said Itu Aba was a rock, rather than a self- sustaining island entitled to a 200-km economic zone.

Experts say Beijing is largely content for Taipei to push its claims on Itu Aba, the largest natural feature in the Spratlys, because China views Taiwan as a breakaway province to be taken back by force one day, if necessary.

So, while Chinese ships have confronted Malaysian, Philippine and Vietnamese vessels in the area, Taiwan’s regular journeys to and from the lonely outcrop have gone unimpeded. — Reuters