Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said yesterday that the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in the East China Sea are inherent territory of the Republic of China and added that the government “will not back down on any sovereignty issue.”
Lin’s remarks came after tensions in the region escalated after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton talked about Washington’s policy toward the island group in a Jan. 18 news conference.
Clinton said the US does not have a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan, but acknowledges that they are under Tokyo’s administration and opposes “any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine Japanese administration.”
Lin made it clear that sovereignty is different to administrative control over a territory.
He added that Clinton also said that the US wants to see “China and Japan resolve this matter peacefully through dialogue,” indicating that the US acknowledges the existence of disputes over the island group and that it wishes for regional peace and stability, which is in line with the wishes of Taiwan.
As for Japan’s administrative control over the Diaoyutais, Lin said Taiwan wishes to conduct negotiations with Japan over fishing rights in the disputed area. He said his ministry is still working on a second round of preparatory fishery talks with Japan, adding that no timetable has been set for the next preparatory meeting.
In November last year Taiwan and Japan held a preparatory meeting to discuss a resumption of formal talks to address the issue of fishing rights in the waters surrounding the Diaoyutais. Taiwan and Japan last held talks on fishing rights in their overlapping territories in 2009, but the discussions have been stalled since then.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
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