Japan pressed to resume talks and settle fishing row

Taiwan's representative to Japan yesterday urged Japan to resume fishery talks with Taiwan as soon as possible to settle a fishery row in the East China Sea.

Lo Fu-chuan (羅福全) stressed that before the holding of such talks, Japan should not use forceful means to drive out Taiwan fishermen who are fishing in the disputed waters of the East China Sea.

Japan has banned Taiwan fishing vessels from operating in the disputed waters since it signed a fishing pact with China in 2000 that settled a dispute over boundaries and fishing arrangements in their adjoining waters.

Japan further intensified its patrols in the disputed areas this year, with Japanese coast guard ships forcing Taiwan fishing boats out of the region on five occasions so far this year, fishery sources said.

Lo said that although Japan and China have signed a fishery agreement, Japan has yet to settle related fishery issues with Taiwan, adding that it should not use force to drive away Taiwan fishermen from their traditional fishing grounds.

Disputes arising from the carving up of territorial fishing rights under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1994 have been sharply focused in the East China Sea, where China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan claim trawling rights.

The last round of fishery talks between Taiwan and Japan ended in August 2001 without an agreement being reached.