Two hours after the release of the award of the international arbitration over the South China Sea dispute, the Taiwan administration issued a firm response, denouncing the award as a serious infringement on Taiwan's interest, and as a claimant in the South China Sea, it said it would not accept the result, which is not binding on Taiwan.

As the de facto administrator of Taiping Island, the largest island in the Nansha Islands, Taiwan's position matters to the overall development of the dispute. The Chinese mainland's nine-dash line claim is inherited from the eleven-dash line originally presented by the Republic of China government, which fled to Taiwan after 1949. Thus, Taiwan's stand on the South China Sea has an impact on the continuity and potency of the mainland's claim. Joint action  across the Straits is essential to the legitimacy of China's claim.

After Tsai Ing-wen took office as Taiwan leader, her government was criticized for taking a vague stand on the South China Sea dispute. Rumors spread that she would adopt a conservative approach to securing the already controlled Taiping Island and abandon the eleven-dash line. If so, this would be a setback for the Chinese nation.

However, it is inspiring to see the Tsai government is considering the arbitration out of the interests of the entire Chinese nation, and is sticking to the bottom line of maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity, a faith developed and preserved by the Chinese for centuries even though the mainland and Taiwan are temporarily split up due to political reasons. It deployed a large-tonnage armed vessel to Taiping Island on the eve of the arbitration and stated a strong position after the release of the award.

Taiwan is in an awkward position in the power game between the Chinese mainland and the US. Tsai's political orientation toward independence and diplomatic inclination to the US might put her in a dilemma. Sharing a similar stance with the mainland on the arbitration can hardly be supported by the US. This was probably a reason why the Tsai government had been ambiguous about the arbitration.

It must be noted that Taiwan is a bit opportunistic about the arbitration in the first place. Feeling confident that Taiping Island would maintain its status quo in the award, the Tsai government was reluctant to rebut the Philippines for abusing international law, not to speak of the US. However, after the award degraded Taiping Island from an island to a rock, meaning Taiwan would lose its 200-nautical-miles exclusive economic zone, it is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

An old Chinese saying goes "brothers in a squabble at home will join forces against bullies from outside." Taiwan should drop its pursuit of petty benefits and look at the big picture. If Chinese sovereign integrity cannot be preserved, Taiwan can hardly be left intact.