Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang (楊進添) yesterday called for the return of Taiwanese sailors held in Japan accused of illegal fishing in disputed waters in the East China Sea and asked Japanese authorities to present evidence that the Taiwanese vessel crossed a temporary enforcement line.
Yang made the remarks at a meeting with the press yesterday.
Formosa Chieftain No 2, a 49-tonne sports fishing boat, was accosted on Sunday by Japanese maritime vessels for allegedly fishing illegally near the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) islands, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said. After Japan detained the skipper, Taiwan sent five coastguard vessels to the area, while Japan dispatched an equal number of ships, the CGA said.
Following negotiations, nine tourists on the boat were sent back to Taiwan on Monday night, but the captain and one other sailor remain in detention pending completion of a Japanese investigation into charges the ship was operating illegally in Japanese waters.
Yang demanded that Japan speed up its investigation and send the detained captain and crew member back to Taiwan quickly.
He said the Taiwanese government was still unable to determine whether the vessel was fishing in Japanese waters as Japan alleged because the boat’s positioning system was turned off when it was seized.
The East China Sea has been the scene of several disputes between China, Japan and Taiwan, all of which claim a chain of islets, known as Senkaku in Japanese and as the Diaoyutai islands in Chinese.
“Regardless of the claims to the area, this kind of incident could happen again, so we need a negotiation mechanism with Japan,” Yang said.
Yang also dismissed a report by the Chinese-language United Evening News that CGA officials who boarded the fishing boat to protect the crew members had been seized at one point by the Japanese.
At a separate setting yesterday, CGA Deputy Minister Wang Chung-yi (王崇儀) said the CGA officials refused to listen to the Japanese side.
“Japanese coast guards asked our men to leave the fishing boat twice but we rejected this because we needed to make sure our citizens were safe and treated fairly,” Wang said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday shrugged off media criticism that the government had been weak in handling the incident.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said the CGA had responded to this incident more quickly than it had to similar incidents in the past and had also demonstrated Taiwan’s military capability.
“The ships we sent were all bigger than theirs,” Lu said.
KMT caucus chief deputy secretary-general Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said the military should consider sending “high-level” military vessels to protect Taiwanese fishing boats near the disputed area.
“Whenever a fishing controversy happens, the government and fishermen are always forbearing, putting everyone in low spirits,” Lin said. “We should protect the nation’s sovereignty and the rights of fishermen.”
Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) suggested Taiwan and Japan sit down and negotiate fishing rights as soon as possible.
Taipei and Tokyo have held 14 rounds of negotiations over territorial fishing disputes since 1996. They have yet to reach an agreement.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG AND STAFF WRITER
Also See: EDITORIAL: Japan’s a friend, let’s not alienate it
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS