Last Friday's negotiations between Japan and Taiwan over fishing rights in the waters surrounding the Diaoyutai (
The biggest roadblock continues to be the dispute over the sovereignty of the Diaoyutais. Taiwan's government has expressed its intent to first tackle the most pressing issue at hand -- the rights of Taiwan's fishermen. If this issue remains unresolved it will continue to threaten fishermen's livelihoods.
Regardless, Friday's negotiations still began with claims of sovereignty over the Diaoyutais from each side. Such declarations are to be expected, and they must take place before any further talks on fishing rights can continue, because neither side wants subsequent negotiations to be interpreted as conceding or acknowledging the other side's claim of sovereignty.
The approach of leaving aside the sovereignty issue and focusing on fishing rights was the first of nine demands issued by fishermen's groups before this Friday's negotiation. To these fishermen, there is no issue more pressing than being able to continue to make a living and support their families. Therefore, the Taiwanese government's policy should be seen as demonstrating praise-worthy pragmatism.
The next accomplishment of the negotiations was the agreement between the two sides to establish fishery task forces as a regular mechanism for dialogue and to facilitate emergency disaster relief. The task forces will meet every three months. Dialogue and communication is essential to bridging differences. So the establishment of these task forces is a step in the right direction.
Furthermore, the two sides have agreed to establish a hotline as a way to notify the other side before taking any law enforcement actions against the other country's fishing vessels. Much to the disappointment of the fishing community, this does not mean that the Japanese coast guard will stop seizing and expelling Taiwanese fishing boats. However, at the very least this hotline will lead to some measure of self-control by Japanese law enforcement personnel when they deal with Taiwanese fishing boats, thus reducing the chance of violent confrontation and the use of excessive force.
Another constructive development was the discussion between the two sides on establishing a mechanism to exclude any third parties from attempting to enforce a claim in disputed waters. This mechanism would carve out an area and place it under the joint control of Japan and Taiwan. While the discussions did not touch on details such as the specific size of the zone, the Japanese representatives seemed to agree on the need for such a controlled area. This is a critical step forward which could lead to the friendly resolution of the current dispute.
An interesting question raised in the talks was whether China will be considered a "third country" and therefore excluded from imposing control in the proposed zone. A fishery accord executed by Japan and China in 1997 excluded waters south of latitude 27 degrees north. Under the circumstances, China could make no claim over the proposed zone under the joint control of Taiwan and Japan.
That's likely to make Beijing unhappy, since it's already lodged protests against Japan, saying that Tokyo should be negotiating with Beijing rather than Taiwan in the current fishery talks. How the current dispute unfolds will impact the triangular relationship between Taiwan, Japan, and China -- and will be worthy of observation in the days to come.
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