On the morning of January 28 President Ma Ying-jeou led a group of government officials and academics to Taiping Island (also known as Itu Aba) in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands, to tour the island and thank the personnel stationed there for their hard work and sacrifices.
After arriving at Taiping Island, President Ma first heard a briefing at the Nansha Command and then shook hands with all of the Coast Guard personnel stationed on the island. In front of a memorial tablet bearing the following message: "Peace in the South China Sea and our national territory secure forever," the president delivered a speech explaining the purpose of his visit and his hope for peace in the South China Sea.
The president then inspected a solar power facility, some farms, and a medical clinic, mailed a letter from the island's post office, and drank water from a local well. During the noon hour he had lunch with the personnel stationed on the island, to whom he extended early wishes for a happy Lunar New Year and gave out traditional New Year gifts including red envelopes containing cash and Year of the Monkey good luck mementos.
The president flew back in the evening to Air Force Songshan Base Command, where he held an international press conference to inform the public on the purpose of his visit to Taiping Island, which is part of the ROC's Spratly Islands.
The press conference started off with the showing of some video footage from the visit by the president and his delegation, followed by remarks from President Ma, who stated that he made this visit to Taiping Island to achieve four purposes. First, he wanted to give thanks in advance to Coast Guard personnel who would be stationed on the island during the Lunar New Year. Second, he wanted to announce his proposed South China Sea Peace Initiative Roadmap and explain how to promote peace in the South China Sea. Taiping Island, he said, can be one of the starting points for implementing the South China Sea Peace Initiative. Third, he wanted to develop peaceful uses for Taiping Island—an island for "peace and rescue operations, as well as an ecologically friendly and low-carbon island." And fourth, refering to an arbitration case between the Philippines and mainland China, he wanted to act as quickly as possible to explain and clarify the situation to refute claims made by the Philippines that seek to diminish the legal status of Taiping Island.
President Ma stressed that Taiping Island is an "island" and not a "rock." It has fresh water and can be self-sufficient by producing agricultural products, and therefore meets the criteria that constitute an "island." The arbitral tribunal is expected to issue a final decision on the case in May or June 2016. Said the president: "I want them to understand the actual conditions on Taiping Island before they issue the decision so they won't make an error in judgement."
In an ensuing Q&A session with reporters, President Ma fielded questions about such matters as sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea, the response of the United States, and the possible impact his trip to the island may have on international conditions and cross-strait ties.
Among those accompanying President Ma at the press conference were Secretary-General to the President Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), National Security Council Secretary-General Kao Hua-chu (高華柱), Coast Guard Administration Minister Wang Chung-yi (王崇儀), and a number of academics, including Professor C. V. Chen (陳長文), Professor Nigel N. T. Li (李念祖), and Professor Chun-I Chen (陳純一).