Two patrol boats yesterday left Kaohsiung for international waters near the Okinotori atoll in the Western Pacific in response to a directive from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to protect Taiwanese fishing boats operating in the area.
The deployment of a Coast Guard Administration (CGA) ship and one belonging to the Fisheries Agency came after a Taiwanese fishing boat, the Tung Sheng Chi No. 16, was seized on Monday last week by the Japan Coast Guard while operating in waters about 150 nautical miles (228km) from the uninhabited atoll.
The boat and its crew were released the following day after the boat’s owner paid a security deposit demanded by Japanese authorities.
Photo: CNA
Japan claims a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone around the atoll, which it says is an island, but which Taiwan says is a reef and therefore is not entitled to anything more than a 500m “security zone.”
Taiwan lodged a protest with Japan and Ma instructed government agencies to step up protection for fishermen operating in waters near the atoll.
Coast guard officials told a news conference before the ships departed that the agency would adopt the principles of no evasion, no confrontation and no provocation in its protection of Taiwanese fishing boats operating in the area.
Photo: Hung Chen-hung, Taipei Times
However, CGA Deputy Director-General Yao Chou-tien (姚洲典) said that Taiwan would respond should Japan use water cannons or take unfriendly action against Taiwanese fishing vessels, adding that he hopes protection of fishing rights would be enforced peacefully and rationally.
The coast guard vessel is equipped with automatic cannons and machine guns.
Yao said the deployment conforms with the principle of freedom of fishing on the high seas stipulated in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and is part of the CGA’s routine patrol missions.
The two patrol boats have LED display boards showing a scrolling message: “We are exercising the freedom of fishing. Do not disturb,” in Chinese, English and Japanese.
It is expected to take them three to five days to reach the atoll.
Yao said the fishery protection program would last for one month.
There are 100 to 200 fishing boats from the port of Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County and Pingtung County’s Donggang (東港) and Siaoliouciou (小琉球) operating in the area, according to Lin Ding-rong (林頂榮), director of the Fisheries Agency’s Deep Sea Fisheries Division.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net