Taipei to hasten frigate patrol for Taiping Island in wake of South China Sea ruling

Source: South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

Ruling, especially regarding Taiwan-occupied island, will never be accepted, says presidential office

Taipei will bring forward plans to send a frigate to patrol waters near the biggest land feature in the Spratlys after a Hague tribunal ruled on Tuesday that Taipei-controlled Taiping Island was a “rock” that conferred no exclusive maritime rights.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister David Lee said President Tsai Ing-wen was expected to take “action” on Wednesday after top-level national security meeting on Tuesday on the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling. Lee refused to specify the action but local news media said Tsai was likely to board a La Fayette-class frigate to boost the crew’s morale before the vessel set off for Taiping.
An emergency response centre has also been set up at the defence ministry.

The ruling ... has seriously hurt our rights over the islands in the South China Sea, and we can never accept itTAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE
Although the ruling was a result of a dispute between Beijing and Manila over claims to disputed land formations and waters, Taipei found the tribunal’s reference of Taiping unacceptable, saying Taiwan has long considered the 46 hectare feature an island.
“The ruling, especially the part involving Taiping Island, has seriously hurt our rights over the islands in the South China Sea, and we can never accept it,” the Presidential Office said.
It added that the ruling was not legally binding, and it would do all it could to uphold Taiwan’s sovereignty claims to “various islets” and their surrounding territorial waters.

Read more: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1989118/taipei-hasten-frigate-patrol-taiping-island