CNA file photo

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) reiterated Friday that Taiwan has no plans to lease Taiping Island in the disputed South China Sea to the United States.

"The government has no plans to lease Taiping Island to any other country, including the U.S. Neither the U.S. nor any other country have made such a request," MOFA spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said in response to a comment by China about the issue a day earlier.

Wu Qian (吳謙), a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said at a news briefing in Beijing Thursday that "such an idea is very dangerous because the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are all firmly opposed to any such moves that are harmful to the Chinese people."

The issue has triggered attention from local and foreign media after China-based news site www.xilu.com. reported that Taiwan was considering leasing the island to the U.S.

Lee described it as a fabricated report designed to create instability in the region or conflict between the two sides of the strait, and urged the parties concerned to stop attacking Taiwan for the groundless rumor.

"As a constructive member of the international community, the Republic of China government is committed to making Taiping Island a hub for international scientific research and global human relief missions, in line with the instructions of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)," Lee said.

"All disputes related to the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to guarantee freedom of navigation and overflight over its waters," he said.

Taiping Island, located some 1,600 kilometers from Kaohsiung, is 0.51 square kilometers and has 200 ROC troops stationed there, but no civilian residents.

(By Elaine Hou and Flor Wang)
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