Taiwan has recently put much hope in the improvement of its ties with Japan. In November, then minister of economic affairs Lin Yi-fu (
Such an optimistic approach is premature. Taiwan and Japan will not achieve any breakthrough in their relations unless they first come to terms with their past. Territorial disagreement on the Tiaoyutai islands and Japan's refusal to apologize for forcing Taiwanese women to work as sex slaves during World War II are the two main issues that still hamper cooperation between the two.
Tokyo considers the Tiaoyutai islands as part of its territory since the US returned Okinawa to Japan in 1972. The Japanese hold effective administration over the islands by regularly patrolling the surrounding waters. On the other hand, Premier Yu Shyi-kun in October reiterated that the Tiaoyutai islands fall under the jurisdiction of Ilan County.
Taiwan's claims are legitimate from a geographical perspective. The islands are closer to Taiwan than to Japan. They are located 386km southwest of Okinawa and 193km northeast of Keelung. From a strategic perspective, the existence of significant fishing banks and oil reserves in the area motivates Taiwan's interest in the Tiaoyutai islands.
However, is it worth jeopardizing bilateral ties for some tiny islands, whose combined area is only 6.3km2, knowing that Taiwan has the possibility to negotiate fishing rights with Japan? How can Taiwan and Japan develop a partnership if they are unable to compromise on the Tiaoyutais?
Taiwan should realize that the potential for a crisis over the islands prevents the development of a more constructive relationship with Japan. The China Times Express reported in September that the Ministry of National Defense in 1990 organized the "Han Chiang" exercise to defend the Tiaoyutais. Such a move could have led to military conflict with Japan. The exercise provided for a force of 45 elite commandos on helicopters to land on the islands.
Taiwan should be more ambitious in its approach to security in the Asia-Pacific region. It should see beyond the mere scope of territorial possession. The Tiao-yutai islands represent an opportunity for Taipei to break its isolation. As China also claims the islands, the government could differentiate itself from Beijing by acknowledging Japan's sovereignty over the Tiaoyutais.
Taiwan could regain some momentum in the Taipei-Tokyo-Beijing triangular relationship by forming a partnership with Japan to contain China's ambitions in the region. Taipei should make a gambit to block China's expansion in the South China Sea. By supporting Japan's territorial claims, Taiwan would make a strategic investment. It would tie Japan to Taipei's security concerns.
To encourage Japan's leadership in the region is in Taiwan's interests.
But Japan can shoulder a more important role only if it accepts its responsibilities for the atrocities of World War II. A nation refusing to take the blame for its past mistakes can have no credibility as a regional power. The vivid memories of the Japanese practice of forcing Taiwanese women into prostitution during that war still prevent harmonious bilateral ties.
When Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara visited Taiwan in 1999 to offer an earthquake relief donation of ?7 million, some activists said the money should have been distributed to the Taiwanese comfort women. More recently, an exhibit held in October at the Taipei City Hall featured historical documents and photos depicting the comfort women.
Taiwan must insist on obtaining an official apology from the Japanese government for these women. Nothing could be worse for Taiwan's honor and Japan's responsibilities than the slow death, without an apology, of all the Taiwanese comfort women who filed a lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court in 1999.
Japan's regional ambitions will have no legitimacy until it apologizes to wartime sex slaves. Trying to gain time in the hope that witnesses of history will die would be shameful.
Taiwan could help Japan walk out of the shadow of World War II by removing such a silence on the past. It is not a coincidence if France and Germany, former enemies, can now form an alliance cementing the EU. In comparison, Japan cannot claim any such alliance with South Korea, China or Taiwan. Germany has accepted its past. That's not the case for Japan.
Finding a solution to the issues of the comfort women and of the Tiaoyutais, rather than seeking a free-trade agreement with Japan, would set the foundations for a Taipei-Tokyo partnership.
Taiwan needs bold initiatives to break China's containment. China has been very active diplomatically over the past weeks. It signed in November agreements with ASEAN members to create a free-trade area by 2010 to 2015 and to avoid open conflict in the South China Sea.
Taipei needs a different approach because China and Taiwan have asymmetric military and diplomatic strengths. Taiwan cannot limit itself to mimic Chinese initiatives and try to sign with ASEAN members free-trade pacts that would have a limited impact on mutual relations.
The Association of East Asian Relations, the quasi-official organization acting as a channel to facilitate non-official ties between Taipei and Tokyo, should concentrate its efforts on the issues of the Tiaoyutai islands and the comfort women. A process of diplomatic normalization between Taipei and Tokyo will only happen after both come to terms with their past.
Trung Latieule is a freelance reporter based in Taipei.
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