The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday condemned Japan’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing boat and slammed “certain politicians and commentators who had been tough during the Kenya incident” for being mute over Japan’s “pirate-like” action.
The KMT caucus issued a statement demanding the immediate release of Taiwanese fishing boat Tung Sheng Chi No. 16 seized by a Japan Coast Guard vessel in disputed waters near the Okinotori atoll in the Pacific Ocean on Monday, and accusing Japan of “kidnapping [the fishermen] and forcibly usurping a NT$1.7 million [¥6 million] security deposit, which is an act that amounted to one carried out by pirates and has seriously damaged the relationship between Taiwan and Japan.”
“The size of the two reefs of the Okinotori atoll is about the size of two standard table-tennis tables. They are reefs, not islands, and thus they cannot provide the basis for the 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone reserved for islands. Therefore, any fishing activity is considered legal in the international waters if the boats do not enter [another nation’s] 12-nautical-mile territorial sea,” it said.
The KMT said that the Tung Sheng Chi No. 16 was seized when it was 160 nautical miles southeast of the Okinotori atoll, “which is definitely high seas,” calling on the ruling and opposition parties and president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to denounce Japan’s “unreasonable and rude” behavior.
The KMT caucus said that politicians and commentators from the pan-green camp, who held a strong position after the Kenya incident in which Taiwanese fraud suspects were deported to China from Kenya, have remained silent.
“Wht did the pan-green camp try so hard to save Taiwanese fraud suspects [from China], but remain silent when Japan detains our fishermen and asks for ransom?” the KMT said
The caucus named Democratic Progressive Party Legislators Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) and New Power Party Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), questioning why they have not been “[as] emotional” over the issue and remained “reactionless.”
“Is it just to stay tough against China but remain soft with Japan? How can people believe in your ‘transitional justice’ if you act like this?” the caucus said.
Separately yesterday, Premier Simon Chang (張善政) said that the atoll measures about 9m2, or only “three tatamis,” and is definitely a reef, not an island.
“Everybody knows that [such a claim] is unreasonable,” he said.
Calling on the government to negotiate with Japan for the immediate release of the Tung Sheng Chi No. 16 and its crew, Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said the legislature supports President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) move to convene a national security meeting, adding that the Okinotori atoll is a reef not an island and Japan has violated international conventions.
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