The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it was unaware of an alleged “secret deal” between China and Japan on the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), but confirmed it was gathering information on the matter.
Responding to a report in AERA, a Japanese news magazine published by the Asahi Shimbun, which claimed the confidential deal had been implemented under the administration of former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, Huang Ming-lung (黃明朗), secretary-general of the ministry’s East Asian Relations Commission, said the “the ministry had never heard of it.”
The ministry’s representative office in Japan was investigating the matter, adding that Taipei had not reached any such deal on the islets, over which Taiwan, Japan and China claim sovereignty.
The magazine said Japan and China agreed in principle following a dispute in 2004 that China should keep activists from sailing to the islands and that Japan would not detain those who land on the islets.
However, if the agreement between Japan and China does exist, it was still not able to prevent a recent skirmish in the area.
Japan arrested a Chinese fishing boat skipper after his trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard vessels on Sept. 7. The incident led to a diplomatic row between the two countries.
“The Diaoyutai issue is not an issue that can be solved immediately, but we believe that its impact on Taiwan-Japan relations will be limited. And I assure you that Taiwan will not cooperate with China on handling the issue,” Huang said at a press briefing.
In related developments, Huang said that the 35th session of the annual Taiwan and Japan Economic Trade Meeting would be held in Taipei on Dec. 9 and Dec. 10.
Taiwan would use this opportunity — a formal negotiation platform on economic and trade issues between the two countries — to get a better understanding as to whether Japan is interested in opening up talks on the feasibility of signing a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan, Huang said.
The first round of coordination meetings for the event is scheduled for Nov. 8, Huang said.
Taipei has said it had adopted a “building blocks” approach to promoting an FTA with Japan under the framework of the Taiwan-Japan Economic and Trade Meeting. Tokyo has reportedly reacted favorably to the signing of an agreement on investment protection.
In August, the ministry confirmed that officials on both sides had made contact to discuss the plan.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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