The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was unaware that the US had recently said the US-Japan security treaty includes the much-disputed Diaoyutai archipelago in the East China Sea, Department of North American Affairs Director-General Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) said yesterday during a weekly briefing.
The island chain has been a source of contention between Taiwan, Japan and China, which all claim sovereignty over the islands. Last month during his US visit, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said that the Daioyutais, or Senkaku in Japanese, came under the protection of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security signed by the US and Japan in 1960.
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) last week told the Taipei Times that the US Department of State does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands, but has clearly stated that the “treaty does apply” to the archipelago.
Tseng, however, said news of the US’ view that the treaty includes the island chain “was not reported back.”
Tseng said it was his understanding that the US continues to abide by its long-standing hands-off position.
He said the reason that MOFA was unaware of the state department’s position was there had been no public announcement and it only existed as a guidance note for dealing with direct questions from reporters.
“I didn’t ask the US for more information on this particular issue,” Tseng said. “For a more thorough explanation of the statement, I would suggest you go and speak to the AIT. The government’s stance is very clear: That we have rightful claim over the Diaoyutais.”
Tseng said one of the main priorities for his department this year was commemorating the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act, a landmark piece of US legislation that serves as the backbone of Taiwan-US ties in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
Tseng said a series of forums would be held in Washington this month and next month by several US think tanks and two forums would also be held in Taiwan.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) mention of Taiwan’s official name during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Wednesday was likely a deliberate political play, academics said. “As I see it, it was intentional,” National Chengchi University Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies professor Wang Hsin-hsien (王信賢) said of Ma’s initial use of the “Republic of China” (ROC) to refer to the wider concept of “the Chinese nation.” Ma quickly corrected himself, and his office later described his use of the two similar-sounding yet politically distinct terms as “purely a gaffe.” Given Ma was reading from a script, the supposed slipup
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,
The bodies of two individuals were recovered and three additional bodies were discovered on the Shakadang Trail (砂卡礑) in Taroko National Park, eight days after the devastating earthquake in Hualien County, search-and-rescue personnel said. The rescuers reported that they retrieved the bodies of a man and a girl, suspected to be the father and daughter from the Yu (游) family, 500m from the entrance of the trail on Wednesday. The rescue team added that despite the discovery of the two bodies on Friday last week, they had been unable to retrieve them until Wednesday due to the heavy equipment needed to lift