有效統治、台北和約 中華民國有太平島主權

太平島港側浚深及碼頭整修工程本月竣工，任內未曾登島的蔡總統是否前往主持引起討論。有人援引十一段線圖（或稱南海諸島位置圖），有人援引憲法一中做為法理依據。因法理認知不同，建議的決策方向也有所分歧，正確的法理認知會讓決策有根有據。

十一段線圖是一九四六年十月蔣中正委員長下令我國海軍由日本接收南海幾個重要島嶼的範圍示意圖。太平島在日本統治台灣期間稱為長島，屬今南沙群島約三分之二的新南群島。後者在一九三九至一九四五年間轄屬台灣的高雄州。長島因由我國海軍的太平艦接收，改稱太平島。

一九四六年政府所繪十一段線圖並非界定南海主權的法律依據。一九五三年中華人民共和國攻取西沙時，為與越南人民共和國交好，將十一段線圖少去東京灣附近的兩段而成九段線圖。二○一六年的海牙仲裁，判定九段線圖不能成為聲索南海主權的國際法依據可以說明。

憲法一中是指中華民國包括台灣地區與大陸地區，大陸地區的法律另定之。在中華民國另外制定大陸地區的法律之前，由台灣地區產生的中華民國國家領導人在遵守中華民國憲法時，當然只能就中華民國有效統治範圍捍衛國家主權。

太平島與中華民國的關係，除與台澎一樣都在中華民國有效統治範圍，更重要的是與台澎一樣都有國際條約界定其主權歸屬中華民國。這項條約是一九五二年已遷台的中華民國政府與日本簽訂的「中華民國與日本間和平條約」（簡稱中日和約或台北和約）。

台北和約是根據舊金山和約第二章領土第二、四與廿六條簽訂。舊金山和約第二章第二條第二項與第六項，分別規定日本放棄台澎及南沙與西沙兩群島之一切權利、權利名義與要求。日本來台簽約代表原只準備移轉台澎主權，南沙、西沙寫入是經我外交部次長，也是談判副代表胡慶育爭取。

胡次長是戮力將我國在大陸期間外交部檔案運台的負責人。一九四六年我政府接收南海之後，即將諸多日方有關南海資料中譯。胡次長深知南沙原屬台灣高雄，於是向日方指出，日方既要移轉台澎主權，當然包括南沙。至於西沙，雖歸日本統治期間的台灣總督府經營，但主權在日本影響下汪精衛政府轄下，二戰結束後為我政府接收，因而一起寫入台北和約。

二戰期間日本於一九三九年占領南海，是因南海諸島是日本由台灣南進東南亞的跳板，日本在南海諸島建停機坪、碼頭可讓飛機、軍艦加油，建氣象台、水文調查站也方便兩者的移動。因台灣在日本統治期間是最靠近南海的日本領土，所以日本占領南海後，使新南群島轄屬高雄，其他南海島嶼由台灣總督府管理。

我政府深悉南海重要性源於二戰經驗。二戰期間原統治東南亞的美英法等國，擬定多條「援蔣路線」準備對日聯合反攻。一九四六年蔣委員長接收南海重要島嶼的戰艦也得美國支援。當時政府也以延伸美國的太平洋防線自許。

在一九五二年蔣中正總統簽訂台北和約，並使之成為總統府公報公告的國家法律，及在聯合國登記的國際條約之後，二○一六年提出南海和平倡議的馬英九總統，是唯一以台北和約為國際法依據捍衛我國在南海權利，並努力推促亞太和平的國家領導人。在國家主權與區域和平面臨嚴峻挑戰的此刻，很希望現在或將來的國家領導人能在這樣的法律瞭解下管理太平島，並掌握我國有關南海的國際話語權。

Effective Governance and the Taipei Peace Treaty:

ROC Holds Sovereignty over Taiping Island

2024-02-01 02:52 United Daily News

Author: Lin Man-houng, Adjunct Research Fellow, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica

President Tsai’s possible visit to Taiping Island to preside over the completion of harbor dredging and port renovations this month has generated much discussion, especially as Tsai has not yet visited the island during her tenure as president. Some have mentioned the eleven-dash line map (or “Location Map of South Sea Islands”) in arguments concerning the island's sovereignty. In contrast, others have referred to the one-China principle within the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution. Different interpretations of the underlying issues of law have resulted in divergent recommendations for decision-making. An accurate understanding of the law, as provided by this article, can provide a solid foundation for government policy.

The eleven-dash line map was created by the ROC Navy between October and December 1946 under the order of Chiang Kai-shek to indicate several important islands in the South China Sea that were to be received from Japan. When Japan ruled Taiwan, Taiping Island was known as Nagajima and was included in the Shinnan Islands, which covered about two-thirds of today’s Spratly Islands. The Shinnan Islands were administered by Japan through Takao (Gaoxiong) Prefecture in Taiwan from 1939 to 1945. Nagajima was renamed Taiping Island after being received by the ROC destroyer escort of the same name.

The eleven-dash line map cannot serve as a legal basis for determining the sovereignty of islands in the South China Sea. In 1953, the People's Republic of China (PRC) occupied the Paracel Islands. To establish friendly relations with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the PRC removed two dashes near the Gulf of Tonkin, resulting in the nine-dash line map. However, the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague concluded that the nine-dash line map cannot serve as a legal basis for sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

The one-China principle in the ROC Constitution maintains that the ROC includes Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, with separate laws for the mainland yet to be enacted. Until the law for the mainland is created by the ROC, leaders in Taiwan must defend national sovereignty within the effective area of ROC governance and adhere to the ROC Constitution.

The relationship between Taiping Island and the ROC is significant not only because the island falls within the effective scope of ROC governance, like Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, but also because the sovereignty of all three was transferred to the ROC by international treaty. The treaty affecting the transfer was the Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan (also known as the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty and the Taipei Peace Treaty, TPT), signed in 1952 by the ROC and Japan.

The TPT was signed according to Chapter II, Articles 2, 4, and 26 of the San Francisco Peace Treaty (SFPT). Article 2, Paragraphs 2 and 6 stipulate the renunciation of all rights, titles, and claims to the territories of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands (Formosa and Pescadores Islands in the Treaty), as well as the Paracel and Spratly Islands by Japan. At the beginning of treaty negotiations, Japan only intended to transfer sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu. The Paracel and Spratly Islands were included at the insistence of the ROC Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and deputy representative in treaty negotiations, Hu Ching-yu.

Hu transferred ROC diplomatic archives from the mainland to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War. After the ROC government gained rule over the South China Sea in 1946, numerous Japanese materials on the South China Sea were translated into Chinese. Deputy Minister Hu understood that the Spratly Islands formerly fell under Takao Prefecture. In negotiations with Japan, he pointed out that the transfer of sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu naturally should include the Spratly Islands. As for the Paracel Islands, although they fell under the administration of the Taiwan Government-General, their sovereignty belonged to the Wang Jingwei regime, a puppet government to Japan during World War II. After the war, Wang’s jurisdiction was handed over to the ROC government under Chiang Kai-shek, and the Paracel Islands were thus also included in the TPT.

Japan occupied the South China Sea in 1939 to serve as a springboard for “southern advance” from Taiwan to Southeast Asia. Japan built airports and docks on islands in the South China Sea to refuel airplanes and warships and meteorological and hydrological survey stations to assist in navigation. Because Taiwan was Japan’s closest territory to the South China Sea, when Japan took the South China Sea, it placed the Shinnan Islands under the jurisdiction of Takao and other islands under the administration of the Taiwan Government-General.

The ROC government recognizes the South China Sea's importance due to its experience in World War II. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other countries that initially ruled Southeast Asia planned multiple support routes for Chiang Kai-Shek (“en-Sho routes”) to prepare for a joint counteroffensive against Japan. In 1946, the ROC battleships that took control over islands in the South China Sea also received US support. At the time, the ROC government aspired to extend the US Pacific defense line.

President Chiang Kai-shek signed the TPT in 1952, making it national law as announced by the Presidential Office Gazette, and registered the treaty with the United Nations. Since that year, President Ma Ying-jeou, who proposed the South China Sea Peace Initiative in 2016, has been the only national leader to promote peace in the Asia-Pacific region and defend the ROC's rights in the South China Sea in international jurisprudence through the TPT. At this critical moment when national sovereignty and regional peace face severe challenges, current and future national leaders should manage Taiping Island through a similar approach to international law and gain control over international discourse regarding the South China Sea.