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.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan