In response to demands that it take action to resolve fishing disputes with the Philippines, the Cabinet has decided to take a two-pronged approach of increasing naval patrols in the disputed waters and negotiating a fishing treaty.
"To show the government's determination to safeguard our territorial waters, the navy will assist the Coast Guard Administration in strengthening its patrols in southern territorial waters to twice a week, especially in the areas overlapping with the Philippines," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (
The Council of Agriculture will also send delegates to the Philippines to discuss the possibility of signing bilateral fishing cooperation treaties and establishing a mechanism to handle future fishing disputes.
To check on the condition of the 11 fishermen still being held in the Philippines, Lin said, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials will visit them and offer any necessary assistance.
The Council of Agriculture will also arrange for their families to travel to the Philippines to visit their loved ones.
The conclusions were reached yesterday at a closed-door meeting presided over by Minister without Portfolio Hsu Chih-hsiung (
Yu earlier telephoned Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
Eight Taiwanese fishing boats and 45 fishermen had been held by the Philippines since last year. Six of the fishing boats and 34 fishermen have managed to escape from detention during the past week.
In a bid to win the release of the fishermen, the agriculture council and foreign ministry formed a task force in May.
The task force has offered those facing litigation a no-interest loan of up to NT$380,000 per boat.
To take care of the families of the detained fishermen, the task force has also been giving NT$3,000 a month to each of them and arranging for their families to visit.
However, Lin stressed that the government would punish any fishermen who violate domestic laws.
He also dismissed reports that Yu recently met secretly with a Philippine envoy to discuss the fishing disputes and detained fishermen.
"The premier has not received any foreign guests from the Philippines recently nor discussed any topic regarding fishing disputes," he said.
To prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, Lin called on local fishermen to be wary of people trying to sell them forged permits to fish in waters around the Philippines.
"The Philippines banned all kinds of cooperative fishing in its territorial waters in 1998 when it amended its fishing laws," Lin said.
Lin said that the government would now focus on negotiating fishing rights with the Philippines, as discussions with Japan have have already made significant progress over the past few months.
"We're glad that both sides have agreed during the last round of negotiations that our fishing boats and their patrol vessels will try to avoid direct confrontation with each other in the overlapping territorial waters," he said of the talks with Japan.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique