Taiwan's Ocean Minister Cleans Up Spratlys, Keeps Peace

0:00On April 29th, Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Minister Kwan Beeling made a trip to Itu Abba, the biggest island in the Spratly chain that Taiwan controls, and stopped by the empty Zhengzhou reef nearby for a beach clean-up. Her Coast Guard team runs these spots in the South China Sea, where claims overlap with China and Vietnam. She shared pics on Facebook of the crew, waving a big Taiwan flag while picking up trash that floated in from other nations. One said it gave her real insight into the daily ground of Coast Guard folks stationed out there in the Nansha Islands as Taiwan calls the Spratly's. The visit tied into environmental and humanitarian drills, and folks are watching close since all three countries. Taiwan, China, Vietnam, lay claim to, both reefs. Vietnam's four ministry hasn't chimed in yet. Kwan stressed straight up that these exercises aren't sparking any regional heat and won't in the future. Meanwhile, Itu Abba packs a runway for military supply flights and a new Wharf built in 2023

1:04that docks 4,000 ton patrol ships. But compared to China's beefed up nearby islands, Taiwan's setup stays pretty light on defenses, and Chinese forces have mostly left Itu Abba and Zhengzhou alone so far, holding the peace in this tense patch of sea. This has been Global News Today, powered by AI.