A group of Chinese nationalists from Hong Kong was set to meet with a flotilla of Taiwanese ships to protest Japan's claims over a set of disputed islands yesterday, while the Japanese government has vowed to prevent the demonstrators from making landfall.
Japan yesterday warned a flotilla of protesters to call off plans to land and plant Chinese flags on the Senkaku Islands, which are known in Chinese as the Diaoyutai.
Japan has nominal control of the archipelago which lies about 400km west of Okinawa in the East China Sea, and is claimed by both China and Taiwan.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
A protest ship loaded with 25 anti-Japanese activists set sail from Hong Kong on Sunday and was scheduled to meet up with some 10 Taiwanese protest ships yesterday.
They hope to reach the islands by tomorrow, land their ships and plant flags.
"This is a peaceful mission, we will not use force when the Japanese coast guards approach," said Hong Kong Legislator Albert Ho (
Ho, who coordinates the Hong Kong-based protest group Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyus, said the sailing represented more than a protest over the islands' territorial integrity.
"We view the continued occupation of the islands as a symbol of Japanese wartime aggression that has not ceased," he said in Hong Kong.
"They are part of the undischarged post-war obligations of Japan," he said.
Meanwhile, Taipei County Councilor King Chieh-shou (
The action is also being held in remembrance of the 10th anniversary of the death of David Chan (
On Sept. 26, 1996, Chan and other activists sailed a ship into the area around the island to claim China's sovereignty. The ship was intercepted by a Japanese Coast Guard vessel.
Chan and several other Hong Kong activists jumped into the sea to protest and tried to swim to the main island. Chan drowned in the rough seas.
King said they initially planned to set sail yesterday, but they were forced to postpone because of obstruction from the Council of Agriculture's Fisheries Agency.
"The agency tried to thwart our plan by issuing tickets to fishermen and demanding they not carry us to the islands," King said.
King burst into the office of Sha Chih-i (
The agency reported the case to Zhongzheng Police District, accusing King of interfering with a public functionary and insulting government officials.
Meanwhile, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Japan would not allow the activists to land on the island chain.
"It is Japan's sovereign territory, and [the activists' trip] cannot be tolerated," Shiozaki told a press conference in Tokyo.
"The Japanese government will take appropriate measures to remove them," he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from