Taipei on Friday rejected Hanoi’s characterization of its latest live-fire drill close to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) as “unlawful,” saying that Taiwan’s declare to the small island within the South China Sea was “unquestionable.”
The Ministry of International Affairs (MOFA) stated in an announcement that the feedback made by its Vietnamese counterpart in regards to the navy’s routine live-fire drills close to Itu Aba on Tuesday had been “unacceptable.”
Earlier on Friday, Vietnamese Ministry of International Affairs spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hold known as Taiwan’s navy exercise “a critical violation of Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty,” saying it had brought on tensions and sophisticated the scenario within the area.
Photograph: Fabian Hamacher, Reuters
Hold stated that Vietnam “resolutely opposes” Taiwan’s “unlawful actions” whereas calling on Taipei to not repeat the drill.
Neither Taiwan nor Vietnam has given particulars in regards to the live-fire train, together with the kind of weapons used.
MOFA stated in its assertion it was “unquestionable that Itu Aba is a part of the Republic of China territory” and that the federal government had a proper to train its sovereign powers on the island and its territorial waters.
Taiping, the most important of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), lies 1,600km southwest of Kaohsiung and is run as a part of the particular municipality’s Cijin District (旗津).
The island can also be claimed by Vietnam, China and the Philippines.
Taiwan administers management over the island, which is occupied by Taiwanese coast guard personnel educated by the Marine Corps, with drills commonly held there.
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