Taiwan yesterday expressed concern to the Japanese government after four Japanese lawmakers inspected the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and nearby waters from the air.
Kyodo news agency reported that four Japanese, including Kazuhiro Haraguchi, member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the House of Representatives, and Yukihisa Fujita, a DPJ lawmaker in the House of Councilors, and two lower house members — Katsuyuki Kawai of the Liberal Democratic Party and Mito Kakizawa of Your Party, yesterday morning conducted an aerial inspection over the area known as the Senkaku Islands in Japanese.
Huang Ming-lung (黃明朗), -secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ East Asian Relations Commission, said he has spoken with Japanese Representative to Taiwan Tahashi Imai by phone and reiterated the government’s position on the country’s sovereignty over the islands.
Huang said he learned from Imai that the inspection was civil in nature and made by Japanese citizens, “a move in which the DPJ was not involved.”
Ministry spokesman James Chang (章計平) added that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan has also expressed Taiwan’s concerns to the Japanese government.
The government will continue to keep a close watch on actions by Japanese political figures regarding the matter and “take necessary measures in a timely manner,” Chang said without elaborating.
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