President Chen visited the Tungsha Island today and inaugurated the Fifth Maritime Patrol Squad of the Coast Guard Administration.
Upon his arrival at the island, President Chen was briefed on the situation of Tungsha and islets of the archipelago. Following the report, the president went to the only temple in the island called "Ta Wang Temple" to dedicate a plaque and prayed for the people. The president also planted a firmiana tree (Chinese parasol tree), hoping that the tree's wind and drought resistant qualities will provide the island a shade of greenery.
After having lunch with the soldiers stationed on the island, the president went to Tungsha's harbor to inspect the rehabilitation of surrounding coral reefs and listened to reports on the layout and construction of the harbor.
Setting himself apart from previous leaders, President Chen said that his second visit to the Tungsha Islands was the sincere mark of a leader's determination and mission to secure the integrity of his country's national soil and sovereignty, an act no former head-of-state has ever accomplished.
The president also promised the people of Taiwan that his government will pay special attention to preserving and protecting the resources on the Pratas Islands (Tungsha Islands), Spratly Islands as well as neighboring small islands and Taiwan's other maritime domains from exploitation. The government will actively boost its budget and strengthen its software and hardware capabilities, significantly upgrading Taiwan's maritime patrolling capacity to not only ensure the country's sovereignty, but its ideal of "Protecting the ocean, benefiting from it and embracing it."
The president's speech made during his lunch with soldiers stationed at Pratas Islands is as followed:
Today is the second time I have visited the Pratas Islands during my presidency. This is something that has never happened before and it explicitly demonstrates my determination to secure the integrity of our country's soil.
My first trip was on December 21st, 2000 and now five years later, with little change in scenery, I return to see great achievements in reconstruction efforts and military preparedness.
For the soldiers stationed here, conditions are improving and morale is high; proving the efforts made by the Coast Guard Administration, with the close cooperation of the Navy and the Air Force, have ushered in a new perspective to the island.
I would also like to express my most sincere gratitude to all the soldiers who are stationed here. And I assure you that the government is thoroughly mindful of defending the sovereignty and maritime resources of the Pratas Islands, Spratly Islands as well as other islands. The government will actively increase its budget; strengthen its software and hardware capabilities and upgrading the resources provided to military units so that our ideal of "Protecting the ocean, benefiting from it and embracing it" can be realized soon.
It is possible that many people are not aware that the exact address of the Tungsha Island is "Number 31, Chung Hsing Li, Chi Chien District, Kaohsiung City." However, an evening's voyage by ship is required to reach the other parts of Chung Hsing Li from the island. Even by boarding a plane from Taipei the trip still takes about two hours.
I hope my trip will spark people's awareness on how extensive Taiwan's territory really is. The surface area of the Tungsha Island is only 1.74 square kilometers, but it is already the biggest among the islands of the South Sea. And compared with the Tai Ping Island, the largest of the Spratly Islands, Tungsha Island is still bigger. Furthermore, Tungsha Island is located 240 nautical miles from Kaohsiung, but it is only 140 nautical miles from Guangdong's Shatou and 170 nautical miles from Hong Kong. Under these very peculiar geographical conditions, the job of securing this area remains very difficult.
In the past, boats from China and Hong Kong often intruded into waters surrounding the Tungsha Islands. They used poison and dynamite to catch fish, greatly damaging the ecosystem there and even beached an abandoned cargo ship on the coral reef with the intention of claiming sovereignty to the island.
Since the Coast Guard Administration began to station a detail here, it has actively proceeded in clearing this area, and at the same time the Kaohsiung City Government has declared fishing strictly prohibited here in order to protect the coral reefs' rehabilitation. Today, we see the initial results of these efforts and I am quite pleased. I hope that the Coast Guard Administration can continue cooperating with academic parties in order to make the Tungsha Islands a center for tropical marine life studies and eventually establishing a "National Tungsha Ocean Park."
In May of this year, Chinese oceanographic ships intruded into our country's waters twice in less than 20 days. They only left after vessels from the Coast Guard Administration intervened. Following the rise of China's economic and military power, the Asian countries in this region have been on alert as Chinese boats have recently been spotted probing the undersea resources throughout the East China Sea and South Sea, making this an issue of particular concern for us.
Taiwan is an island country and has many groups of islands, isles and reefs belonging to it in the surrounding waters. Therefore, disputes with other countries are unavoidable as economic zones are certainly to overlap. Taiwan is not the only country that encounters these problems.
Countries of the world have long established a uniform strategy, via consultations and negotiations, to deal with such problems. Being an "ocean country," Taiwan must be linked to the international community and initiate a similar approach by adhering to international laws and precedents, as well as fervently replacing confrontation with negotiation, especially in the event of a possible armed conflict. This is what a responsible and responsive government does.
The Coast Guard Administration has the duty of protecting the sovereignty and security of our territorial waters. Under no exceptions, it must fulfill its mission without creating the threat of an armed conflict. Only with wisdom, determination and perseverance can the Coast Guard Administration complete this mission impossible. The reason I am here today with journalists is because we have to let our country's people know about the efforts, contributions and sacrifices of these soldiers stationed here. I know our people will support them.
Finally, let us raise our glasses together in a toast to the Tungsha Islands and for the prosperity of our nation. Thank you again for your participation.
While addressing the media, the president thanked journalist for accompanying him on the trip and said that he wished to become a voluntary worker after he retires in 2008 because of his experience handling these issues. In regards with what might happen in 2008, the president said that in 2000, when he first ran for the presidential election, many things did not happen the way he had planned. A true hero, he said, is like a Chinese parasol tree, one who can withstand the heat and draught and who weathers storms.