The US Senate has unanimously approved an amendment that reaffirms the US commitment to Japan in its territorial dispute with China over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands (釣魚島) in China, and which Taiwan also claims, as Washington tries to counter any attempt by Beijing to challenge Japan’s administration of the archipelago.
The measure was attached on Thursday to the National Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2013 still being debated in the Senate.
The amendment says that while the US “takes no position” on the ultimate sovereignty of the territory, it “acknowledges the administration of Japan over the Senkaku Islands.”
It further adds that “unilateral actions of a third party will not affect United States acknowledgement of the administration of Japan over the Senkaku Islands.”
The legislation reaffirms the US’ commitment to Japan under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security and warns that an armed attack against either party “in the territories under the administration of Japan” would be met in accordance with its provisions.
The amendment also noted US opposition to any efforts to coerce, threaten to use force, or use force to resolve territorial issues.
The Senate reiterated the US national interest in freedom of navigation, peace and stability, respect for international law and unimpeded lawful commerce in the region.
“This amendment is a strong statement of support for a vital ally in Pacific Asia,” US Senator Jim Webb said in a statement.
It “unequivocally states that the United States acknowledges the administration of Japan over the Senkaku Islands, and that this position will not be changed through threats, coercion, or military action,” the Democratic senator added.
In Taiwan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Steve Hsia (夏季昌) yesterday said the ministry did not see any change in the US’ position on the dispute over the islands because the US has repeatedly said it takes no position on sovereignty of the region.
The statement by the US that the Diaoyutai Islands were covered by the US-Japan security treaty was mainly “out of concern over the needs to maintain regional security” and “was irrelevant to which country owns the sovereignty of the region,” Hsia said.
Hsia said the move by the US Senate was a repeat of the US position.
It is an undisputable fact that the Diaoyutai Islands are inherent territory of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s adjacent islets and traditional fishing grounds of the nation’s fishermen, Hsia said, adding that the passage of the bill in the US Senate can in no way change the facts.
The sovereignty of the islands has been a source of friction for decades, but the Japanese-Chinese row erupted earlier this year after the nationalist governor of Tokyo said he wanted to buy them for the city, forcing the Japanese government to buy three of the uninhabited islets.
Chinese vessels have been spotted in and around the territorial waters every day for the last month.
Both sides have publicly refused to back down on their respective claims to the Japan-controlled islands.
National pride as well as potential mineral reserves are at stake in the decades-old dispute, which has hit the huge trade relationship between the world’s second and third-largest economies.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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
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
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
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