Taiwan has recalled its representative to Japan immediately to consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after Japan released a report recommending charges against a Taiwanese fishing boat captain that the ministry called "absolutely unacceptable."
Japanese authorities have charged the captain, Ho Hung-yi (何鴻義), with “incurring danger” in an incident on Tuesday, when his boat collided with a Japanese patrol boat at 3:38am near the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) islands.
The Taipei County-registered vessel sank soon after.
“We demand that the Japanese apologize immediately for their inhumane behavior and compensate the captain for damages,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) told a press conference yesterday afternoon after Japanese authorities released the results of an investigation into the collision.
The investigation said the Japan Coast Guard had recommended that authorities charge both Ho and the captain of the Japanese patrol boat with “incurring danger due to negligence of official duties” and additionally charge the Japanese captain with “incurring harm due to negligence of official duties.”
Ou said the ministry would immediately “recall” Representative to Japan Koh Se-kai (許世楷) to report on his office’s contact with Japanese authorities over the matter.
Koh will also be instructed on how to proceed with the negotiations on the issue, Ou said.
When contacted by the Taipei Times, MOFA Spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) dismissed concerns that the recall was meant as a diplomatic protest.
Ou also announced that the ministry will dissolve its Committee of Japanese Affairs.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) requested that the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration and other agencies provide reports on the incident from their perspectives expeditiously, Ou said.
The Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs will contact Ho about the results of the Japanese investigation and discuss his options for seeking compensation from the Japanese government, he said.
Taiwan, China and Japan all claim sovereignty over the Diaoyutai islands, although Tokyo exerts control over the chain and claims sovereignty over the surrounding waters.
Ou said a special cross-agency committee that was tasked in 1999 to examine the Diaoyutai dispute must resume its work.
Earlier yesterday, Ho, who was released on Friday, said the Japanese government had treated him unfairly and prolonged his detention without reason. Ho said he had been interrogated without the company of a lawyer or translator.
Ho accused the crew of the Japanese vessel of deliberately ramming his boat.
“It’s impossible that the vessel collided with our boat because we were zigzagging across the water,” Ho told a press conference in the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
He said satellite pictures and his boats’ instruments could prove that his boat was on a steady course and disprove the explanation of the Japanese crew.
The three crewmembers and 13 fishermen aboard the Taiwanese boat were all rescued. The fishermen were taken to Ishigaki in the Ryukyu islands for medical treatment and questioning before being sent home on Wednesday.
Crew member Yang Kun-feng (楊坤風) accused Japanese officials of partiality in their report.
“We were the victims, but the Japanese officials kept saying that we were lying at the interrogation,” Yang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華), who accompanied Ho and the other crew members yesterday, called on the government to demand an apology from Tokyo and provide legal assistance for the fishermen to seek damages.
“Don’t the Diaoyutai islands belong to Ilan County? How dare the Japanese detain and question this captain and his crew? Is it because the Japanese government assumed that the Taiwanese government would not confront it on this issue?” Lee asked.
Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), who accompanied family members of the boat’s crew in protest against Japan’s actions last week, vowed to provide legal help for Ho and his crew and to seek compensation from Tokyo.
“We local governments will be tough and continue to press Japan to protect the rights of our fishermen,” Chou said yesterday.
Chou said the local government would help the fishermen file a lawsuit against Japan.
The Ministry of Justice last night issued a statement saying that because the Diaoyutai are Taiwan’s territory, Taiwan enjoys jurisdiction over the islands.
If the fisherman files a suit against officers on the Japanese patrol boat, prosecutors would launch an investigation into whether the Japanese violated any criminal law, the statement said, adding that if the fisherman files a civil lawsuit in Japan asking for compensation, the ministry would offer help too.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
RSS