Taiwan president visits disputed Spratly Islands

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian made a landmark visit to the disputed Spratly Islands on Saturday to assert a territorial claim in a move likely to upset China, Vietnam and other nations.

The visit was to assert Taiwan's sovereignty, a card that the ruling party had been using to try and woo voters ahead of the presidential elections on March 22.

During the March election, a referendum will also be held to ask voters whether Taiwan should join the United Nations under the name "Taiwan".

Chen, dogged by criticism that he accomplished too little as his eight-year term winds down, flew in a military aircraft to Taiping Island in the Spratlys, to visit a recently completed airstrip for maritime rescue work, military sources said.

"Taiping island has been a territory of Taiwan since December 12, 1946," Chen said at an opening ceremony for the airport.

"Taiwan, as a country with a role concerning the Spratly Islands, calls on neighbouring nations to resolve the dispute with peaceful means."

Analysts said Chen was making the visit for several reasons. "He wants to tell the Taiwan people that he's still in control. It is also a strong signal to assert Taiwan's sovereignty ahead of the U.N. referendum," said Andrew Yang, a political analyst at the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies.

The 1,150-metre airstrip completed in late January will supplement Taiwan coastguard and military facilities on Taiping, which is the biggest in the Spratly chain at 489,500 square metres and 1,000 km south of Taiwan.

"He's going to show he's the president, for face, that's the most obvious," said Su Chi, a defence specialist with the Nationalist Party (KMT) before the visit. "Whether this will lead to more conflict isn't certain."