The government’s signing of a fisheries agreement with Japan has succeeded in protecting the rights of Taiwanese fishermen, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday during a visit to Toucheng Township (頭城) in Yilan County, where he unveiled measures designed to resolve fishing disputes with the Philippines in waters claimed by the two nations.
Taiwan and Japan inked a fisheries agreement in April aimed at ending fishing disputes in waters surrounding the contested Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), which are known as the Senkakus Islands in Japan.
The agreement includes an escape clause which Taipei said allows both sides to set aside disputes over their competing sovereignty claims to the islands.
Photo: CNA
“More than 1,000 bluefin tuna have been caught in waters around the nation in the past two months and the majority of all types of fish are also caught in this area,” Ma said while attending the launch ceremony of Wushi Fishery Harbor’s wharf in Toucheng.
The Diaoyutai Islands fall under the jurisdiction of the Yilan County Government and the waters surrounding them have long been a traditional fishing ground for Taiwanese fisherman. Ma said the fisheries agreement with Japan aims to allow local fishermen to operate in the area without harassment.
The agreement gives Taiwanese fishermen an additional 4,530km2 in which they can operate without interference from the Japanese authorities. The expanded zone encompasses a triangular area between 25? north latitude, 122.8? east longitude and 124.7? east longitude.
As to the fishery disputes with the Philippines, Ma said the government has reached a consensus with Manila to establish a mechanism for both sides to notify each other of any incidents involving fishing vessels and to determine how the respective authorities should handle such cases.
Meanwhile, Ma, who doubles as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, is set to make more frequent visits to the nation’s cities and counties over the coming weekends as he campaigns for re-election as KMT chairman.
The president is to visit Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli counties on Saturday to discuss his campaign platforms with party members, said Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中), his re-election campaign office spokesman
The campaign office is arranging for Ma to visit at least three cities or counties a day on weekends to enhance his communication with party members, Yang said.
The KMT chairmanship election is to be held on July 20.
Ma’s only challenger, KMT Central Standing Committee member Hsieh Kun-hung (謝坤宏), said he is also planning similar visits to liase with party members around the nation.
Hsieh repeated his call for Ma to be a “people’s president” and concentrate solely on the presidency.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS