President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday reiterated during a meeting with a visiting Japanese politician that Taiwan hopes to seek international arbitration on the Okinotori atoll dispute.
Ma told Japanese Legislator Nobuo Kishi that if Taiwan and Japan cannot solve their dispute over the atoll, the two sides should submit the dispute to international mediation and arbitration.
Over the past eight years, relations between Taiwan and Japan have been the best they have ever been since the two nations severed formal diplomatic ties in 1972, Ma said.
Photo: CNA
However, Japan’s detention of the Taiwanese fishing boat Tung Sheng Chi No. 16 “could have some negative influence on this relationship,” Ma said.
After the boat was detained by the Japan Coast Guard near the Okinotori atoll on Monday last week, Japan demanded a security deposit to release the boat and its crew, and handcuffed and strip-searched the boat’s captain, Ma said.
“Taiwanese are shocked and angered by these actions,” Ma said.
Okinotori is only 9m2 and its two reefs are only 16cm above sea level, which means that it has no fresh water and is unable to sustain human habitation or economic life, he said.
He cited Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as saying that reefs that cannot sustain human habitation or economic life are not entitled to an exclusive economic zone.
Despite this, Japan claims a 200 nautical mile (370km) exclusive economic zone around the atoll.
Two Taiwanese patrol boats yesterday reached international waters near Okinotori in an effort to increase protection of Taiwanese fishermen operating in the area, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said.
With official vessels from both Taiwan and Japan near Okinotori, Ma said he hopes the two sides restrain themselves and avoid conflict that could affect friendly relations between the two nations.
The CGA said that when encountering Japanese patrol boats, it would adhere to the principles of no provocative action, no confrontation and no evasion.
However, if any Japanese patrol boats attempt to approach Taiwanese fishing vessels operating near Okinotori, the coast guard would take immediate action to ensure the safety of the fishermen, which could include dispersing any Japanese vessels, it said.
The CGA said it has not ruled out dispatching more vessels to waters near Okinotori to protect Taiwanese fishing boats.
RESOLUTE BACKING: Two Republican senators are planning to introduce legislation that would impose immediate sanctions on China if it attempts to invade Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force. Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week. In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
More than 8,000 people took part in a rally in Taipei yesterday to express support for more defense spending, after the opposition slashed the Cabinet’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget and capped it at NT$780 billion. The demonstrators urged the Cabinet to propose another bill. Taiwan Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said the main problem of the passed budget plan is the removal of funding for critical items, not just that the total amount is smaller. Critical budget items included purchasing or developing uncrewed vehicles, Strong Bow (強弓) missile systems, additional ammunition, artificial intelligence-powered combat systems and Taiwan-US
RSS