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Keep politcis out of Tiaoyutai issue, top expert warns

A leading political expert has said that it is not in the nation's interests to handle the Tiaoyutai issue politically as Japan and the US have boosted efforts to play a role concerning the disputed uninhabited islet group.

"The government should continue to claim sovereignty over the islands, but it should focus more on how to share the natural resources there with countries concerned," said Emile Sheng (盛治仁), a political science professor at Soochow University.

If the nation continues to emphasize the political aspect of the issue, Sheng said, it might end up getting nowhere.

"Let's face it, we don't play a significant role in the matter because we're politically a smaller country compared with China, Japan and the US," Sheng said. "But if we could concentrate more on how to cooperate with other countries to develop the area, we'd gain more than we'd lose."

Lying 150km northeast of Taiwan and situated in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Okinawa, the Tiaoyutai Islands, surrounded by rich fishing waters and abundant mineral reserves, have been regarded by the government as within the jurisdiction of Ilan County and one of the nation's traditional fishing grounds.

The fishing zone, however, is in an area that Taiwan, Japan and China each claim is within their 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zones.

Under normal circumstances, the three countries would have to engage in trilateral negotiations to resolve their overlapping claims. Japan and China, however, have negotiated a bilateral fishing pact, leaving Taiwan out in the cold.

To prove its sovereignty over the islets, Japan has leased three of the five isles from an Okinawa resident claiming to have ownership of the islets. The lease papers could be used as legal evidence at an international tribunal to prove ownership of the islands.

The US has also reportedly reached a consensus with the Japanese government to deploy military troops on the islet groups in the future.

The Taiwanese interior ministry has decided to conduct a satellite survey of the islands' surface area and topography to include it on the nation's official maps.

The government hopes to issue unequivocal official declarations to neighboring countries and the international community that Taiwan claims complete sovereignty over the Tiaoyutai islands.

Reacting to the agreement between Japan and the US, China has expressed its concerns, saying that it may "add variables" to the already thorny situation.

Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said that the Cabinet will continue to negotiate with concerned countries.

"The government's stance on the issue has been clear over the years, that is, we'll continue to negotiate with parties concerned," Lin said. "We have to be very careful in solving such a politically sensitive issue, especially when there is a conflict involved."

The government started talks with Japan in 1996 but the two sides have not reached a consensus.

It has also called on China to talk over the issue but the request has so far not been answered.
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