ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Taiwan’s difficult position during the Ma Ying-jiu era in maintaining its sovereignty claims in the East and South China Seas. In both the Diaoyutai/Senkaku and Spratly territorial conflicts, the Ma administration upheld a stance of undisputed sovereignty on the part of the Republic of China. In the case of the Diaoyu islands, Ma compromised by signalling to Japan, an important political ally, that his administration did not have any interest in a serious confrontation. Consequently, he negotiated a fishery agreement with Japan and put sovereignty on the back burner, which served to de-escalate political tensions with Japan significantly. In the South China Sea case, however, he eventually chose to assert Taiwan’s claims to Taiping Island (Itu Aba) by reinforcing military installations, intensifying the deployment of armed forces, and making a symbolic visit there at the end of his incumbency. Although Ma Ying-jiu presented peace initiatives to the international community that were aimed at resolving both the Diaoyutai/Senkaku and Spratly territorial disputes, these suggestions were widely ignored, which underlined Taiwan’s weak position in East Asian power politics.
