The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday that the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) islands are an inseparable part of the Republic of China’s (ROC) territory and that any different views expressed by former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) were his personal opinion.
Lee, who is visiting Okinawa, was quoted by the Central News Agency yesterday as saying at a luncheon hosted by the Okinawa county magistrate yesterday that “The Diaoyutai islands have belonged to Japan since a long time ago.”
Like Taiwan, the island group was part of Japanese territory during its occupation from 1895 until 1945, he said.
Lee has been criticized in the past for making similar comments.
Following a swearing-in ceremony yesterday for ministry officials, including John Feng (馮寄台), the nation’s new representative to Japan, who will be leaving on Saturday to take up his post, Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) told reporters that the Diaoyutai islands are under the jurisdiction of the ROC government and that Lee’s views did not dovetail with those of the administration.
Feng said the dispute over the islands was a prolonged issue and should be resolved through diplomatic means.
“We acknowledge that Japan believes the Diaoyutai islands are part of its territory, but this can only be resolved diplomatically,” he said.
Controversy over the sovereignty of the island group was re-ignited this year when a Taiwanese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Japanese patrol vessel on June 10 near the islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japanese. Taiwan, Japan and China all claim rights over the islands.
Taiwan and Japan held a 15th round of fishery talks in July 2005 to try to resolve the dispute. While both sides agreed to hold another round of talks in March 2006, they never took place.
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