Thu, Mar 22, 2018 page8

• Incident might serve as leverage

  • By Lin Yu-tzu 林育賜
  • • 
    • 
    • 

  Taiwan and Japan are very close to each other — the distance from Taiwan to Yonaguni Island is only 59 nautical miles (109km). Controversially, each side claims a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from their coastlines.

  On March 1, Taiwanese fishing boat the Tung Pan Chiu No. 28 went fishing in the overlapping zone. Two days later, it was shadowed by the Japan Coast Guard. While being chased, the boat was also shot at with water cannons.

  The next day, it was chased again while fishing 37 nautical miles from the eastern coastline of Taiwan. It was not until it entered the nation’s territorial waters that the Japan Coast Guard ended the pursuit.

  On March 5, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a protest against the “undue enforcement.”

  One day later, the doorplate of Japan’s de facto embassy in Taiwan, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, was plastered with red paint by China Unification Promotion Party local chapter director Chen Ching-feng (陳清峰). The vandalism shows that the international event provoked an uproar at the domestic level.

  According to the Tung Pan Chiu No. 28’s route map, it did not intrude into the territorial waters of Yonaguni.

  Japan did not deny this claim, either. Instead, Tokyo accused the Taiwanese boat of intruding into its EEZ.

  International conflicts can be resolved by resorting to international laws of the sea.

  Article 74 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea states that “the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone with ... opposite coasts shall be effected by agreement on the basis of international law ... in order to achieve an equitable solution.”

  It is understandable for Japan to exert rights over fisheries resources in its EEZ, but pursuing the boat and shooting water cannons was inappropriate, as Taiwan also considers the area its EEZ.

  The only thing the coast guard should do is drive away foreign fishing boats with verbal warnings or sounding a siren. Once the boat leaves the area, any action should be stopped.

  The same article also states that if neighboring nations cannot conclude an agreement on maritime boundaries, they should try their best to work toward a feasible and temporary arrangement for using the overlapping maritime zones.

  Following this provision, Taiwan, in 2013, reached a consensus with Japan over the use of some overlapping sea areas.

  It is not easy for Taiwan to open negotiations with a more dominant nation, such as Japan, but it succeeded in 2013 by cleverly using political leverage.

  The story started in 2012, when the governor of Tokyo claimed that several of the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) were owned by a Japanese national and asked for a donation to buy the Diaoyutais for the Japanese government.

  This brought the Japanese government into direct confrontation with China. Since Taiwan also claims territorial sovereignty over the Diaoyutais, Taiwan was likely to be embroiled in the dispute. After weighing the possibility of Taiwan siding with China in the dispute, Japan was forced to negotiate with Taiwan on the use of fisheries resources around the Diaoyutais.

  Finally, Taiwan entered into the 2013 Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement, which applies to the sea areas near the Diaoyutais above 24°, 46 minutes northern latitude. It also allows fishing boats from both nations to fish in the area and emphasizes that fishing boats from either side are only subject to corresponding domestic laws.

  The conclusion of the agreement taught Taiwan a lesson: Taiwan, as a small nation, can create more room for diplomatic maneuvering by taking advantage of the conflicts of interest between two dominant nations, in this case, China and Japan.

  There is a similar leverage that Taiwan can use from the latest incident. It stems from Japan’s mistakes about maritime enforcement: The coast guard should not pursue a foreign fishing boat when it is in the EEZ, not to mention attacking it with water cannons.

  Therefore, instead of foolhardily using violence to make things worse, Taiwan should capitalize on Japan’s violation of international law to obtain more benefits in coming negotiations.

  Lin Yu-tzu majored in marine policy and English teaching. He teaches English at National Yilan Commercial and Vocational High School.
• Most Popular

  • 1

    Typhoon could trigger sea warning, hit central Taiwan

  • 2

    Cancelations announced as sea warning issued for Typhoon Fung-wong

  • 3

    Jokic’s 55 point pays off for Nuggets

  • 4

    Fung-wong approaches Taiwan, batters Philippines

  • 5

    Volunteer soldiers seeking discharge rises from 2021