President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said the government would lift its sanctions on the Philippines if Manila responds positively to Taiwan’s requests with regard to the May 9 shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman by Philippine Coast Guard personnel.
Ma said the government stands firm on its position that the Philippine government should offer a formal apology, compensate the victim’s family, investigate the case, bring those responsible to justice and open fishery negotiations with Taiwan.
He said these were reasonable requests that are consistent with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the UN Charter.
“We are waiting for a response from the Philippines. If there is a positive response, we definitely will lift the sanctions,” Ma said while addressing a military commissioning and promotion ceremony.
The shooting took place in waters about 70km east of Balintang Island in the northern Philippines.
Manila has contended that the Taiwanese boat was poaching in its waters, while Taipei argues that the boat was operating in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone.
On May 15, Taiwan imposed a series of retaliatory measures against the Philippines, which include suspending the issuance of visas to Filipino workers, issuing a red travel alert for the Philippines and suspending high-level exchanges between the two countries.
Also halted were bilateral economic exchanges, agricultural and fishery cooperation, technology research exchange and cooperation projects, aviation rights negotiations and visa-free treatment for Filipinos.
The two sides have completed their respective investigations into the case, but have yet to release their reports or bring charges against those responsible for the death of the Taiwanese fisherman, 65-year-old Hung Shih-cheng (洪石成).
They have begun talks on fishing rights in waters where the two nations’ exclusive economic zones overlap, which they hope will lead to a formal fisheries agreement. The first meeting was held on June 14.
Ma said that Taiwan signed a similar fisheries agreement with Japan in April that gave Taiwanese fishermen an additional 4,530km2 near the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in which they can operate free of harassment by the Japanese authorities.
The agreement provides a tentative resolution to the decades-long fisheries dispute between the two nations without undermining each other’s territorial claims over the Diaoyutais, he said.
He pledged that the government would continue its efforts to protect Taiwanese fishermen who are operating legally in the nation’s exclusive economic zone and on the high seas.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS