The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday reiterated Taiwan’s claim to sovereignty over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) amid rising tensions between China and Japan over the issue, and urged the involved parties to peacefully resolve the issue.
“We don’t want to see any unilateral behavior that would worsen the dispute. The Republic of China [ROC] government urges all parties involved to set aside disputes and collaborate on the development of the region,” ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) said at a press briefing.
Chang’s comment came after China and Japan were reportedly planning to step up efforts to solidify their sovereignty claims over the islands, which lie about 100 nautical miles (185km) off Taiwan’s northeast tip in the East China Sea.
According to media reports, China is planning to send vessels to execute regular patrols and strengthen its presence around the Diaoyutais, known as the Senkakus in Japan.
Responding to a reporter, Chang denied that Taiwan’s claim was compromised by the international incident, saying that Taiwan’s position has been firm on the issue and that the islands are “indisputable ROC territory.”
Asked what concrete action Taiwan would take to “avoid being marginalized in [the] multilateral discussion,” Chang said: “We have issued five statements and have held high-level inter-agency meetings since the incident. We have also been monitoring every development, including the remarks on the US-Japan Security Treaty and military drills in the region.”
Taiwan recognizes that the spirit of the US-Japan Security Treaty was aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the region, but “to our knowledge, the US does not take any position on the issue of sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands,” he said.
After the Sept. 7 incident, Taiwan summoned Japan’s top envoy, Tadashi Imai, on Sept. 13 to address the dispute.
The ministry said on Sept. 14 that Taiwan “is not siding with China” on the issue after two Taiwanese activists abandoned their protest near the disputed islands when their action was thwarted by the Japanese coast guard.
In related news, during yesterday’s question-and-answer session in the legislature, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said that he would “cautiously consider” the suggestion made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liu Shen-liang (劉盛良) that he lead officials in setting sail to the Diaoyutais to declare the country’s sovereignty over the territory.
Asked by Liu to declare the government’s stance on the issue, Wu said its position has been governed by two principles — reaffirming the country’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutais in a forceful way and protecting fishermen’s rights in the waters, as well as refraining from taking any actions that could escalate tensions over the issue.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
RSS