Taiwan brazenly invites international arbitrator, Philippines to Ba Binh island

Taiwan today brazenly called on the international arbitration court not to issue a ruling on the lawsuit in the East Sea if the judges have not visited Ba Binh Island, which belongs to Vietnam.

Ba Binh Island, which belongs to Vietnam, is illegally occupied by Taiwan. Photo: CNA

The Taiwanese government "once again seriously invited the five arbitrators in the Philippines' lawsuit to survey Itu Aba Island,"Reuters"If the court decides not to respond to our sincere invitation, it should not make a ruling on the legal status of Taiping Island," Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement today.

According to Focus Taiwan, Taiwan also said today that it invited the Philippines to visit Itu Aba Island but was refused.

Taiwan illegally occupies Itu Aba, the largest island in the Spratly Islands, which belongs to Vietnam. Itu Aba is located about 1,600 km from Taiwan and has an area of ​​nearly 0.5 square kilometers.

Manila is challenging China’s unreasonable claims to sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. The Philippines argues that the rocks and islets in the Spratly Islands cannot be considered islands and therefore cannot be recognized as a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Manila also considers Itu Aba a rock, not an island. Meanwhile, Taiwan wants to prove that Itu Aba is not a rock, but an island with an exclusive economic zone.

The international arbitration court in The Hague, Netherlands, last month accepted documents as evidence from a group linked to the Taiwanese government, which argued that Itu Aba is not a rock, a move that could delay the court’s decision on the Philippines’ case.

According to VNE