Outgoing Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou visits remote and disputed islands to ‘assert Taipei’s sovereignty’
Critics say outgoing Taiwan president’s tours of lonely Pengjia near disputed Diaoyus and Taiping in Spratly chain are to build his legacy
Taiwan’s outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou yesterday visited Pengjia, a small island near the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, in yet another show of his determination to uphold sovereignty over disputed territory before he steps down on May 20.
Since January, Ma has been busy with overseas activities, including a visit to a Taiwan-held island in the highly contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in late January to assert sovereignty, followed by a trip last month to Taiwan’s two Central American allies, Guatemala and Belize, to cement ties.
As long as he is president, it is his duty to assert Taiwan’s territorial claims
Critics have mocked Ma’s visits as a sign of his reluctance to let go even after he became a lame-duck president.
Some politicians in the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party have accused Ma of attempting to side with Beijing by visiting Taiwan-administered Taiping Island, the largest of the Spratlys, which are claimed in part or whole by Beijing, Taipei, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Taiwan president visits disputed Taiping island in South China Sea
But analysts said while Ma could be trying to build his legacy, which includes establishing warmer relations with Beijing since he become president in 2008, his act of assertion was largely due to his belief in upholding Taiwan’s sovereignty over disputed territories.
“As long as he is president, it is his duty to assert Taiwan’s territorial claims in either the Diaoyus or Taiping Island in the South China Sea,” said George Tsai Wei, a professor of political science at Chinese Culture University.
