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.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS