The 15th round of negotiations over fishing rights in the area surrounding the Diaoyutais will begin in Tokyo today, but will probably not yield quick results, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
However, the fact that Tokyo had agreed to the discussions was an encouraging sign, ministry spokesman Michel Lu (
"If we don't achieve a result that is satisfactory [in this round of talks], it isn't important: we can continue to talk," Lu said.
The Diaoyutais, which are called Senkaku-shoto by the Japanese, are an island chain located roughly 200km east-northeast of Taiwan, and are claimed by Beijing, Tokyo and Taipei.
The dispute between Taiwan and Japan over the islands' sovereignty reached a head last month, when almost 200 Taiwanese fishermen sailed near the islands in an effort to prod the government into taking action against what they perceived as unjust treatment by the Japanese Coast Guard.
Taiwanese fishing boats which enter the waters claimed by Japan are often seized and held until their crew pays a fine to the Japanese government.
The issue received further attention when the Ministry of National Defense, under intense pressure from pan-blue legislators, dispatched a Knox-class frigate to the seas near the disputed area in an effort to demonstrate the government's resolve in defending the nation's interests. Critics said the trip was a provocative, unnecessary and had served only as a photo opportunity for Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and his cohorts.
The first round of talks over fishing rights near the Diaoyutais was held in 1996.
Taiwan's delegation in this round of talks will be led by Association of East Asian Relations Secretary-General Lo Kun-tsan (羅坤燦), Taiwan's de facto ambassador to Japan, according to a statement by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂).
Japan will provide an official of comparable status, the Japan Interchange Association -- Japan's de facto embassy -- said, while declining to reveal the official's name and position.
Tokyo's willingness to continue the talks is seen as an indication of Japan's friendly attitude.
In an interview with the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Tuesday, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was careful to emphasize the healthy Taiwan-Japan relationship, despite the fishing dispute.
"Taiwan is Japan's best friend, and Japan is Taiwan's best partner in an economic, strategic and security alliance," he said, according to wire agency reports.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods