The Republic of China (ROC) is to continue to pursue reconciliation and diplomacy with China because the government’s cross-strait policies have improved external relations and removed the “flashpoint” that existed in East Asia previously, Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) told an international forum on Asia-Pacific security.
Lin delivered a luncheon addressed to an international audience at this year’s Asia-Pacific Security forum hosted by the Institute for National Policy Research, the US-based Pacific Forum-CSIS, the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies in the Philippines and Asia Center in France.
Lin said the ROC’s geopolitical role in the region was significant, located as it is in a pivotal position between the East China Sea and the South China Sea, as the world’s political and economic center of gravity shifts toward the Asia-Pacific region.
Lin said that the East China Sea peace initiative that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) proposed a year ago has been well received internationally. The initiative called for the parties concerned to put aside differences, pursue stability by conducting peaceful negotiations and then commit to sharing and developing resources.
“We hope that the initiative will help East Asia rid itself of turmoil and confrontation and add to Taiwan’s role as a peacemaker and responsible stakeholder in the region,” Lin said.
Citing the fisheries agreement Taiwan signed with Japan in April, Lin said that the initiative has provided “a critical solution for the seemingly intractable sovereignty disputes” arising from the rapid and dynamic development of the region.
Under the agreement, the rights and interests of Taiwanese fisherman were safeguarded, while neither Taiwan nor Japan was required to alter its stance on territorial and maritime claims to the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), Lin said.
“The key to the success of the East China Sea peace initiative lies in reciprocity and cooperation,” Lin said. “The ROC government is ready and willing to play the role of a dependable partner and hopefully, the same spirit and principle can be applied to South China Sea and other areas.”
Bobby Inman, a retired US admiral who has served as director of the US National Security Agency, delivered a keynote speech at the forum.
In the face of challenges ahead — the need for additional energy resources to sustain economic growth, the indisputable and continued warming of the planet, international narcotic trafficking and cybersecurity, among others — it is critical that countries involved adopt a multilateral approach to deal with the problems, Inman said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS