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KMT accuses Taiwan’s government of failing to uphold South China Sea claims
Opposition figure calls on DPP administration to protest to Manila over Philippine attempt to chart a boundary around Scarborough Shoal
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Lawrence Chungin TaipeiPublished: 10:00am, 4 Aug 2026Opposition parties in Taiwan have accused the government of failing to defend the island’s long-standing claims in the South China Sea, following its muted response to Philippine attempts to delimit a disputed shoal.
“The government speaks loudly when confronting mainland China, but falls silent when Japan or the Philippines challenges Taiwan’s claims,” Kuomintang culture and communications committee director Chen I-hsin said on Sunday.
Chen was referring to the Philippines’ move to assert territorial sea baselines claims around Scarborough Shoal, a group of tiny, low-lying rocky islets off the east coast of Luzon.
The shoal is called Huangyan Island in mainland China, Minzhu Reef in Taiwan and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines – and claimed by all.
Last week, Manila filed its official nautical chart for Scarborough Shoal with the United Nations.
In the chart, the Philippines defines its claims to the shoal’s “territorial sea baseline”, along with the outer limits of its 12-nautical-mile (22km) territorial sea and 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone.
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