ABSTRACT
In 1991, Taiwan and China began their participation in the South China Sea Workshop and maintained a tacit partnership in the process before cross-Strait relations turned sour in 1995. Taiwan's participation was not due to Beijing's unilateral and turnaround policy of giving Taiwan a say in the South China Sea, but rather was under the context of cross-Strait secret envoy dialogueapproved by Presidents Lee Teng-hui and Jiang Zemin. Both Taiwan and China insist that islands and reefs within the nine dotted lines belong to the Republic of China (ROC) or the People's Republic of China (PRC). With the basis of identical sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, China and Taiwan can easily treat each other as a natural ally vis-a-vis other ASEAN claimants. It is hard to imagine Taiwan publicly protesting against Chinese claims in the South China Sea or vice versa. When cross-Strait relations were calm from 1991 to 1995.
