TAIPEI, April 29 - Taiwan's minister responsible for ocean affairs and oversight of the Coast Guard confirmed on Wednesday that she visited a second Taiwan-controlled feature in the South China Sea, saying the trip included environmental work and offered a close view of personnel stationed in the contested islands.
In a post on her Facebook page, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling said that alongside a visit to Itu Aba - the Taiwan-held island in the Spratly group - she also travelled to the nearby, uninhabited Zhongzhou Reef to carry out a beach cleanup.
"There, I personally witnessed marine debris that had drifted in from surrounding countries and gained a deeper appreciation for the day-to-day life of our Coast Guard personnel stationed in the Nansha islands,"
In the same post Kuan shared two photographs taken on Zhongzhou; one picture showed a member of her team carrying a large Taiwan flag. Later in parliament she reiterated her stance on sovereignty matters, saying
"in the defence of sovereignty of course there is absolutely no backing down."
The Coast Guard described the minister's trip as consisting of environmental and humanitarian drills. Both Zhongzhou Reef and Itu Aba are also claimed by China and Vietnam, and the minister acknowledged that Vietnam had filed a protest over her visit, which marked the first time in seven years that a Taiwanese minister had travelled to Taiwan's positions in the Spratly Islands.
Kuan characterized Vietnam's complaint as not being "notably more forceful than usual" and stressed in her Facebook post that
"Our exercise has not caused, nor will it cause, any regional tension."
Vietnam's foreign ministry has stated that any foreign activities in the Spratly or Paracel Islands without its consent "constitute an infringement of Vietnam's sovereignty and are invalid."
Itu Aba, which Taiwan controls, has a runway capable of receiving military resupply flights from Taiwan. Taiwan also opened a new wharf there in 2023 that can accommodate a 4,000-ton patrol ship. Despite that infrastructure, the island is described as lightly defended when compared with nearby islands under Chinese control. The island and Zhongzhou are generally left alone by Chinese forces, according to the information in the public record.
The minister's visit highlights both Taiwan's continued administration of Itu Aba and the tensions inherent in overlapping claims in the South China Sea. Kuan's emphasis on environmental cleanup and humanitarian drills framed the trip as operational and routine, while her comments in parliament underscored Taiwan's stance on defending its claims.