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Keep the navy out of fishing row

Japan has long agreed to negotiate over fishing disputes with Taiwan, and vessels from the Coast Guard Administration have been asserting Taiwan's interests in disputed waters. But the media has sought to give the topic maximum exposure, inflaming public sentiment.

The result is that the government has been unable to resist pressure from certain members of the legislature, and on June 21, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) and other government officials boarded a warship and traveled near disputed waters to demonstrate their determination to protect Taiwanese fishermen. From the perspective of safeguarding fishing interests, the government's recent moves have only confused me.

First, maritime resource conservation, maritime delimitation and sovereignty disputes should not be confused with one another. Disputes in the international community should be settled peacefully, and the same also applies to disputes caused by overlapping maritime claims.

This spirit of peace is expressed in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and is also expressed in the Law of the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf of the Republic of China (中華民國專屬經濟海域及大陸礁層法), Article 4 of which provides: "In the event of the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf of the Republic of China overlaps with the adjacent or opposite states, the Republic of China may negotiate, on the principle of equity, a delimitation line with those of the adjacent or opposite nations," and "Prior to agreements mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the Republic of China and the adjacent or opposite states, in a spirit of understanding and cooperation, may reach a provisional arrangement."

A majority of Taiwanese commentators and the media, however, seem to ignore an important fact: the Taiwan-Japan fishery talks over the past have been practical discussions over maintaining the industry, rather than political discussions about maritime delimitation. This is because both sides know that such delimitation can carry deep political implications, and given the current political situation, Taiwan and Japan know that any agreement is unlikely.

But, considering the urgency of fishery conservation and management, both countries have agreed to negotiate a provisional arrangement, under international law and relevant domestic legal regulations, based on a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, to ensure the sustainability of shared fishery resources in disputed waters.

Second, the use of warships as a diplomatic tool to force two sides of a maritime dispute to the negotiating table has been tried before, and has proved successful on certain occasions. But when the issue is fishery conservation and management, the suitability of such means is open to question. The use of coast guard vessels would not only have been less controversial, it could have achieved the same goal.

Nobody wants a war, and most don't believe that the deployment of the naval vessels would precipitate a war. There seems to be a consensus that the use of these vessels would merely be a protest to show Taiwan's determination, forcing Japan back to the negotiating table. So why -- after the Japanese had already agreed to talks -- should the naval vessels be deployed, creating a great fuss over something that had already been agreed upon?

Third, the crux of the recent dispute is about how to ensure Taiwanese fishermen's rights to operate in disputed waters. The leaders of Fishermen's Association pointed out that within the overlapping economic zone, both states can share the same resources.

Faced with today's issues of fishery conservation and management, most fishermen, who are kindhearted and left without alternatives, may not want to complicate the current situation by heightening it to the level of political confrontation.

The navy's intervention can display Taiwan's military strength and the government's determination, but, in the current phase, has only served to arouse strong nationalist sentiment on both sides. The slightest mismanagement of the situation could lead to a political dispute in which protecting national dignity became an issue. If this were to happen, both sides would have little room to maneuver. It would also be harmful to fishery conservation, management and fishermen's rights.

That public awareness of the plight of disadvantaged fishermen has been raised is one of the positive aspects of this incident, especially as Taiwanese have been indifferent to the importance of the ocean.

But the emphasis of the incident has tended to move away from overall maritime policy, especially the protection of the fishing interests of those fishermen. If the government cannot respond cautiously, and politicians continue to pour oil on the flames, this will not benefit the nation.

Now that our navy has been called out, all that common people like us can do is pray for Taiwan.

Chiang Huang-chih is an associate professor in the College of Law at National Taiwan University.

TRANSLATED BY LIN YA-TI
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