Representatives from Taiwan and Japan on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on tackling marine debris during a round of discussions in Tokyo on maritime affairs.
The MOU was signed by Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi.
Under the MOU, the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association would request cooperation from Taiwan’s Ocean Conservation Administration, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association and agencies of the Japanese Ministry of Environment to push forward exchanges and cooperation on researching techniques for surveying and cleaning marine debris, with the aim of reducing synthetic waste in the ocean.
Photo: CNA
The two associations should be in constant communication over issues related to marine debris, and should exchange the latest information regarding surveying and cleaning techniques, the MOU said.
Japan and Taiwan have received acclaim for their work to address maritime affairs under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF), which they jointly founded with the US and Australia, Ohashi said in a speech.
The MOU seeks to build on the achievements of the GCTF to deepen the mutually beneficial partnership between Taiwan and Japan while tackling these matters, he added.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan donated masks and pulse oximeters to Japan, which later donated AstraZeneca vaccines to Taiwan, Su said.
This underscored the deep friendship between the two countries, Su said, adding he believes that with sincerity and mutual trust any unresolved issues can be settled in a mutually advantageous way.
Issues covered by this year’s discussions on maritime affairs included cooperation in marine ecology, maritime security, marine science and fishery, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The two sides also discussed the Okinotori atoll issue during the meeting, but have yet to arrive at a consensus, the ministry said.
The classification of the Japan-held Okinotori atoll, which Tokyo calls Okinotori Island, in 2016 prompted the establishment of the dialogue between the two associations, as it relates to the demarcation of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which substantially overlaps that of Taiwan.
Japan’s Coast Guard in April 2016 seized a Taiwanese fishing boat operating 277.8km east-southeast of the atoll, which prompted the Coast Guard Administration and the Council of Agriculture to each dispatch a ship to escort fishing boats out of the contested waters.
Although the two sides did not reach a consensus on the atoll dispute during the latest round of discussions, they agreed to continue the dialogue for further cooperation on fishery matters, the ministry said.
They also agreed to hold another round of discussions on maritime affairs in Taipei next year, it said.
The dialogue was last held in Taipei in 2019, but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
RSS