Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry reiterated its territorial claims in the South China Sea on Saturday after a former U.S. diplomat urged Taiwan to stop using a demarcation line it has long adhered to in laying claim to the disputed waters.

The Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Bank and Pratas Islands as well as their surrounding waters are inherent parts of the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) territory “from the perspective of history, geography and international law,” ministry spokeswoman Anna Kao said.

She was responding to a suggestion by a former representative of the United States in Taiwan that Taipei stop using a nine-dash line to demarcate large swathes of the South China Sea as its territory and instead base its claims on international law.

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