Taiwan does not recognize any move by the Japanese government to nationalize the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and has expressed concern over a visit to the area by Tokyo City Government personnel as part of the city’s efforts to buy the island chain, a Taiwanese official said yesterday.
“We do not recognize any move that will undermine our sovereignty,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Steve Hsia (夏季昌) said after it was reported that Japan is finalizing plans to nationalize the disputed island chain later this month.
Taiwan’s representative office in Japan has also expressed “concern” over an inspection visit to a marine area near the islands by a group of staff members from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government yesterday morning, which was linked to the city’s bid to purchase the Diaoyutais, Hsia said.
He reaffirmed Taiwan’s claim over the island chain, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan.
It was reported in the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Shimbun yesterday that the Japanese government is finalizing a plan to purchase three of the Senkaku islands from a private owner in the middle of this month for ￥2.05 billion (US$26.15 million).
“It is indisputable that we hold sovereignty over the Diaoyutais,” Hsia said in response.
He urged Japanese politicians to exercise restraint on the Diaoyutai issue.
Taiwan, Japan and China have been making competing claims to the Diaoyutai Islands for several years.
Located in the potentially resource-rich East China Sea, the island chain lies about 100 nautical miles (185km) off Taiwan’s northeastern tip.
Amid growing tensions in the region, Hsia reiterated that Taiwan will address the dispute with the relevant parties, on the basis of safeguarding sovereignty, shelving differences, pursuing peace and reciprocity, and jointly exploring resources in the area.
In a recent flare-up, a group of Hong Kong activists’ went ashore on the islands in the middle of last month and were detained by Japanese authorities. The activists were later released.
Following that incident, Japanese lawmakers led a group of activists on a visit to the Diaoyutais and some of them also went ashore.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS