Upon hearing the proposal of PFP Legislator Tsao Yuan-jhang (
Tsao was reported as saying that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait hold common ground on the issue of the Tiaoyutai Islands. How can that possibly be? The response of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was that the islands are part of "Chinese territory." In contrast, the position of the Taiwan government is that the islands belong to the ROC. If the Taiwan government was right, then the only way these islands could also be part of "Chinese territory" would be that both they and Taiwan are Chinese territory -- that is simply untrue.
The ROC government on Taiwan has every right to assert claims over these islands on its own without conceding with respect to the Chinese sovereignty issue. After all, historical records dating as far back as the 1500's to the more recent post-WWII era consistently indicate that these islands have always been treated as accessories to Taiwan. Their disposition was usually treated as a side dish to the disposition of Taiwan. For example, in 1895, after the first Sino-Japanese War, China had ceded both Taiwan and these islands to Japan. In 1940, a jurisdictional dispute had arisen between Taiwan, then still a Japanese colony, and Okinawa over the Tiaoyutai Islands. A Tokyo court ruled in favor of Taiwan at the time. After WWII, again Japan handed over both Taiwan and these islands to the ROC government.
Under the circumstances, the Taiwan government is fully justified in its claim that the Tiaoyutais belong to whomever has a rightful claim over Taiwan. Since the ROC on Taiwan is an independent sovereign country, the Tiaoyutai Islands are obviously part of its sovereign territory.
Reportedly, many pan-blue lawmakers are pushing the government to send troops over to these islands. This is definitely out of the question. For one, thus far, Japan has not taken any military action. It would be highly dangerous and inappropriate to escalate the situation to that level. This is not to mention the fact that any military conflict or even tension between Taiwan and Japan over these islands may just give China an excuse and the golden opportunity for military intervention followed by a military takeover of Taiwan.
It is really funny to hear to some members of the pro-unification camp saying that if no military action is taken against Japan today, tomorrow it may take it upon itself to invade Taiwan. Between China and Japan, China is by far the greater military threat. No matter how much Japan may lust for any oil deposits that may be on or near the Tiaoyutais, it cannot possibly have the slightest interest about taking over Taiwan. For one, it will first have to deal with China, which wants Taiwan for itself, and the US.
The Taiwan government is absolutely right in saying that the matter must be dealt with through diplomatic channels and means. There is no point in acting in haste. After all, Taiwan has a much bigger enemy -- China -- lurking behind its back.
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