Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) yesterday expressed confidence that Taiwanese fishermen would receive improved fishing rights after bilateral talks in July between Taiwan and Japan over the Okinotori atoll dispute.
“We have negotiated with Japan on matters concerning fishing rights around Okinotori and have reached a preliminary agreement, which is to bring related maritime affairs to the negotiating table before the end of July,” Lee said.
Lee said Japan has demonstrated a high level of sincerity during their previous negotiations on the matter, which he acknowledged took place before the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government was sworn in on Friday last week.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The new development signifies an implementation of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) principles to settle disputes through communication and negotiations, Lee said, adding that the ministry would continue to uphold those principles in its interactions with Japan.
With a total area of less than 10m2, Okinotori has been at the center of an ongoing conflict between Taipei and Tokyo, sparked by the Japan Coast Guard’s seizure last month of a Taiwanese fishing boat operating about 150 nautical miles (277.8km) east-southeast of the atoll.
Lee made the remarks during a gathering hosted by ministry officials in Taipei yesterday morning to welcome him and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wu Chih-chung (吳志中), who succeeds Bruce Linghu (令狐榮達).
Lee’s comments came on the heels of an Executive Yuan announcement on Monday that Taipei is to establish a dialogue mechanism with Tokyo on maritime affairs cooperation and that it would not take a particular stance on the disputed legal status of Okinotori until the matter is determined by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
The announcement stands in stark contrast to the stance of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who instructed government agencies to refer to the atoll only as “Okinotori rock” and refused to recognize Japan’s expansion of its rights by unilaterally defining the feature as an “island.”
Lee reiterated the ministry’s determination to safeguard the rights of Taiwanese fishermen, vowing not to compromise them at the negotiation table.
“As you are all aware, Tsai herself comes from Pingtung County, which, along with Kaohsiung, are the two major strongholds of the nation’s fishing industry,” Lee said, adding that given Tsai’s family background, it is unlikely she would tolerate policies detrimental to fishermen.
Turning to the government’s reported plan to pull back two patrol vessels deployed on May 1 to protect Taiwanese fishermen operating around Okinotori, Lee said Ma had said himself on April 26 that the mission would last for only a month.
“Just as I mentioned before, we will by no means sacrifice the rights of Taiwanese fishermen. It is our responsibility to safeguard our nation’s interests,” Lee said.
As for the government’s reluctance to call Okinotori a “rock,” Lee said that as a member of the international community, Taiwan should respect the customary handlings of international disputes.
In related news, ministry spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said that the date for outgoing Representative to Italy Stanley Kao (高碩泰) to leave his post remains uncertain, pending a decision from Taiwan’s representative office in the country.
Kao was officially appointed by Tsai as the nation’s new representative to the US late on Monday, replacing Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡), who assumed the post in March 2014 and reportedly asked to leave the office before Sunday next week.
“What is certain is that Kao will not report for duty before Shen’s departure,” Wang said.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS