Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) says Taiwan will not back down in defending its sovereignty no matter which country is involved. This came during a press conference at the Legislature on Wednesday, April 29, and follows a protest Vietnam lodged after Taiwan held a maritime rescue and anti-gray-zone tactics drill on Taiping Island in the South China Sea. The island is controlled by Taiwan, but also claimed by China, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Kuan visited the island, which is the largest of the Spratly Islands archipelago, on April 21. It was the first ministerial-level visit to Taiping since 2019.

Kuan said the exercise scenarios included responding to gray-zone harassment by makeshift vessels to test Taiwan’s mechanisms for handling such incidents. Another element of the drills was conducting joint maritime rescue operations.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry stated that any foreign activity conducted in the Spratly Islands without Vietnam’s consent constitutes a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty.