Any sign of wavering on Taiwan's part in defense of sovereignty claims in the South China Sea ahead of The Hague ruling would affect Chinese national interests and deteriorate cross-Straits ties, experts said following Taiwan's recent withdrawal of two patrol vessels from Taiping Island.
Two new 100-ton CGA patrol vessels were sent in 2015 to Taiping - the largest island in the Nansha Islands - but were withdrawn and are now both docked in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, according to Taiwan's "Coast Guard Administration (CGA)."
The withdrawal decision has raised questions in Taiwan and the mainland over whether the government is giving up sovereignty over the South China Sea.
Lee Chung-wei, CGA director-general, said on Monday that "the government's stance on its sovereignty claim over Taiping Island in the South China Sea remains unchanged," adding that it was the CGA's decision to adjust the security arrangements instead of reducing the task force in the region, Taiwan-based Central News Agency reported.
"The Taiwan administration's move undermined our rightful claims to sovereignty and would deteriorate cross-Straits relations," Zhang Hua, an assistant research fellow at the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Zhang said that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wants to limit "Taiwan's sovereignty" to the island and some nearby islands, in a bid to split the connection with the mainland on the South China Sea.
"Some DPP members believe that the South China Sea issue is more of the mainland's than Taiwan's concern," said Zhang, adding that he is concerned that Tsai Ing-wen may put Taiwan-US relations above protecting national interests.
According to the Taiwan-based Liberty Times, Taiwan's military is prepared for a possible escalation of tensions in the region following the tribunal's ruling on Tuesday, and Tsai may deliver a speech on Taiwan's measures.
Tsai may urge restraint on all sides, call for negotiations to maintain regional peace and stability, but she may not mention the nine-dash line (called 11-dash line in Taiwan), according to Liberty Times.
"Any disavowal of the nine-dash line would also affect Taiwan's interests. At this point, the government may keep silent and not go against the US or provoke the mainland," Chen I-hsin, a political science professor at Taiwan's Tamkang University, told the Global Times.
Chen said that the mainland and Taiwan should join hands to safeguard the nation's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the South China Sea.
During the second hearing in November 2015, the Philippines claimed that Taiping Island is a rock and not an island, and should therefore not have any maritime entitlements beyond 12 nautical miles.
Taiwan "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" announced in January that "Taiping Island is an island, not a rock," and that Taiwan "possesses full rights associated with an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in accordance with UNCLOS."
The nine-dash line was promulgated by the then Chinese government in the 1940s, and that it has been upheld by the successive governments in China, according to Xinhua.
