The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday rejected Beijing’s criticism of the party’s “flattery of Japan” over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) dispute, saying that China’s provocative moves in the region are what should be condemned.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Fan Liqing (范麗青) on Tuesday said DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who is scheduled to return to Taiwan today after a five-day visit to Tokyo, displayed “a lack of national pride” with his “flattery” of Japan on the territorial issue.
“The DPP has its own views and assessment about Taiwan’s national strategic interests. While Taiwan and Japan both claim sovereignty [over the Diaoyutais], they also share the common interests of maintaining peace and stability in East Asia,” Su said in Japan.
Photo: Lee Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
“The most urgent task at hand is how to secure fishing rights in the region, where Taiwanese have been fishing for hundreds of years,” Su added.
Su and the DPP delegation visited the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) think tank yesterday.
The DPP chairman urged both sides to resolve the issue of fishing rights in waters near the Diaoyutais as soon as possible through peaceful dialogue and again highlighted the friendship between people in the two countries.
DPP headquarters offered a more straightforward counterattack to China’s criticsm, with spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) saying that the DPP has always called for resolving the dispute through bilateral negotiations and that the party “opposes China’s intentional provocation in waters around the Diaoyutais, which are known as the Senkakus in Japan.”
Beijing’s provocation has created tension and instability in the region, he said, adding that Taiwanese would not accept Beijing’s attack on the DPP.
China has no grounds to comment on Taiwan’s affairs when it oppresses Taiwan’s international space, threatens to take Taiwan by military force and has more than 1,000 ballistic missile aimed at Taiwan, Lin said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS