A Taiwanese research vessel operating in waters near Okinawa was blocked by the Japan Coast Guard on Wednesday, the latest maritime dispute between the two nations following the seizure of a Taiwanese fishing by boat Japanese authorities last week.
The Ocean Researcher I, which belongs to the Ministry of Science and Technology and is operated by National Taiwan University researchers, was blocked by Japanese patrol vessels in waters off Okinawa’s Yonaguni Island, where Taiwan’s and Japan’s maritime zones overlap, as the island is 111km from the Yilan County coast.
The Coast Guard Administration immediately dispatched vessels to escort the research ship and the confrontation lasted for a while without conflict, administration Deputy Director Kung Kuang-yu (龔光宇) said, adding that the ship and its crew returned home unharmed.
“What happened yesterday was not the first example of its kind, but an ordinary event. The exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and Japan overlap, but unlike the two nations’ fisheries agreement that delimits separate fishing zones, there is no clearly defined parameters for maritime research,” the administration’s Department of Natural Sciences and Sustainable Development Director Chen Yue-gau (陳于高) said.
Japanese intervention in Taiwanese maritime research has become increasingly frequent, so the ministry has worked with the administration to protect Taiwanese research vessels, Chen said, adding that a bilateral agreement is needed to designate areas where maritime research can be conducted without interference.
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