Manila, March 31 (CNA) The Philippines declined to comment Thursday on an invitation by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to send Philippine government representatives or lawyers to visit Taiping Island, which Taiwan claims as its territory, in the contested South China Sea.
"We have no comment on the invitation," said Charles Jose, spokesman of the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs, in response to an inquiry by CNA.
On the nature of Taiping (also known as Itu Aba), the Philippines has asked the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to determine the nature and character of different features in the South China Sea, he said.
"We will leave it to the tribunal to make that determination," he added.
A Philippine analyst said that Manila will not change its stance on Taiping, whether it sends a representative to Taiping or not, adding that making no comment on Taiwan's invitation and saying it will wait for the tribunal's decision is a feasible way of responding.
The Philippine official's remarks came after Ma on March 23 invited the Philippines to send government representatives or lawyers to visit Taiping, so that they can see for themselves that it qualifies as an island rather than just a reef.
The invitation came amid questions about whether the 0.51-square-kilometer Taiping, the largest of the Spratly Islands, can be defined as an island under international law.
A case pending in the Permanent Court of Arbitration brought by the Philippines against China, has triggered interest in how the landforms in the South China Sea should be defined.
Manila is hoping the court will rule that many of the formations claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea are no more than reefs or rocks, and therefore entitled to no more than 12 nautical miles of territorial waters, rather than islands, which generate 200-nautical-mile economic zones.
Such a ruling would negate many of China's claims to fishing or resource rights in the region.
Taiwan has taken an interest in the case because a lawyer for the Philippines has argued that Taiping is not an island but rather a rock that cannot support human habitation.
In an effort to seek international support for its stance that Taiping meets the definition of an island, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged for a group of local and international journalists and experts to travel last week to Taiping, which lies about 1,600 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan.
Taiping has its own sources of natural, abundant, potable fresh water, as well as naturally formed and fertile soil, while fruit, vegetables, chickens and goats are raised there, providing ample evidence that it is fit for human habitation and can support an economic life of its own, the ministry said.
Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim all or part of the islands and reefs in South China Sea, where are thought to be rich in oil and natural gas reserves.
(By Emerson Lim and Elaine Hou)
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