Setting foot on Pengjia islet (彭佳嶼) as the first head of state from Taiwan to ever visit the nation's northernmost territory, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday reiterated Taiwan's sovereignty claim over the Diaoyutai islands (釣魚台).
The Diaoyutais, about 141km from Pengjia, are at the center of a sovereignty dispute between Taiwan and Japan -- which calls them the Senkaku -- and a quarrel over fishing rights.
Accompanied by both Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) and chief of the Coast Guard Administration Hsu Hui-yu (許惠祐), Chen's high-profile visit to Pengjia yesterday was the second time in a fortnight he had visited Taiwan's remote territories, having visited the southerly Pratas Islands on July 28.
PHOTO: CNA
"The Diaoyutais belong to us, belong to Taiwan, there is no doubt about it ... I'm here to show our determination to protect our territory," Chen said.
The chain has, in recent months, became a thorn in the side of Taiwan-Japan relations after local fishermen held a large-scale demonstration last month to protest what they called unfair treatment at the hands of the Japanese coast guard.
Stating that Taiwan and Japan's conflicting claims to the Diaoyutais was a matter separate from that of fishing rights, the president said major local fishermen's associations have also thrown their support behind the government's "separate handling" stance and added that his administration would do whatever it could to secure the best possible benefits for local fishermen in negotiations with Japan.
Chen said that although the 15th round of Taiwan-Japan fishery talks in Tokyo on July 29 reached "no significant breakthrough" given the complexity and sensitivities of issues involved such as overlapping economic zones and conflicting territorial claims, "progress is considered being made so long as we continue to hold talk and keep talking."
"Taiwan, as a liberal, democratic and peace-loving country, is obliged to resolve international disputes through negotiations in line with international law and precedents and not use unilateral confrontational moves," Chen said.
Chen also said that Coast Guard Administration planned to build new bases on Pengjia to facilitate patrol missions and the monitoring of oil exploration disputes among neighboring countries, including Japan, China and South Korea, as well as expanding its policing area and providing better protection for fishermen.
The ownership of Pengjia is not disputed but there are competing claims to maritime areas between Pengjia and the Diaoyutais.
As part of a monument-unveiling ceremony in the islet, the president autographed copies of a new book published by the Coast Guard Administration to provide information about Taiwan's territorial waters and 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
The only one inhabited out of the three islets, Pengjia is guarded by military personnel and coast guard officers.
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