Senior Taiwan officials raise tensions with visit to Taiping Island

Taiwan yesterday sent its national security chief and other senior officials to a disputed island in the South China Sea, in a surprise move seen as risking fresh tension in the region.

The visit, led by National Security Council secretary general Hu Wei-chen - the highest-ranking official ever sent by President Ma Ying-jeou to the Spratly Islands - came a day before Taiwan was to start a five-day, live-fire drill on Taiping Island, which is under Taipei's control.

In a statement issued last night, the National Security Council said the group, despite strong winds and heavy rains, also landed at nearby Chungchou Reef, where they hoisted a Taiwanese flag to assert Taipei's sovereignty over the Spratlys.

This was the first time senior Taiwanese officials had landed on Chungchou Reef.

The island, which is just 3.1 nautical miles east of Taiping, is one of the isles in the Spratly Archipelago claimed in part or wholly by Taiwan, the mainland, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

"While the ROC government firmly upholds its sovereignty claim over the South China Sea islands, we hope our neighbouring nations can heed President Ma's call for peaceful development and joint exploration of the resources in the region through dialogues and communications," Ma's top national security adviser was quoted as saying in the statement.