Seas of troubles

IN THE convoluted dramas in the seas around China, Taiwan is often cast as a bit player, the optional extra to the lengthy lists of contending parties to the many territorial disputes. But the fatal shooting on May 9th of a 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine coastguard has shifted Taiwan to centre stage. The killing provoked a crisis in its relations with an important economic partner that happens also to be a treaty ally of America—the ultimate guarantor of Taiwan’s own defence. In the bigger picture, its involvement in such disputes inevitably draws attention to the island’s unsettled international status, and to the future of its relations with China.

Because China bars Taiwan from international treaties, Taiwan cannot ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). But it follows the convention’s principles. The shooting took place 164 nautical miles (about 300km) south-east of Taiwan, where the “exclusive economic zone” it would be entitled to under UNCLOS overlaps with that of the Philippines.