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Japan warns over
cosying to China
BONE OF CONTENTION: Japanese lawmakers made the
remarks to visiting Taiwanese legislators at the time of the Chunghua Baodiao
Alliance visit to the Diaoyutais
By Su Yung-yao and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with Staff writer
Taiwan should not be overly close to China, so as to maintain the balance of
power in the East Asia region, Japanese Diet members were quoted as saying
during a recent meeting with visiting Taiwanese lawmakers on issues pertaining
to the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台列嶼).
Taiwan, China and Japan all claim sovereignty over the islets, known in Japan as
the Senkaku islands and the Diaoyu Isalnds (釣魚群島) in Chinese.
Members of the Chunghua Baodiao Alliance, under the escort of Coast Guard
Administration (CGA), on July 4 set sail for the Diaoyutais to emphasize
Taiwan’s claims of sovereignty over the archipelago.
The trip proved controversial as the alliance members brought with them the
national flag of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) instead of that of the
Republic of China (ROC).
At the time of the incident, Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Huang Wen-ling
(黃文玲) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Pasuya Yao (姚文智), Chen
Chieh-ju (陳節如), Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) and others were on a visit in Japan.
Huang said yesterday after returning to Taiwan that in a luncheon with Japan’s
Liberal Democratic Party representatives Yoshitaka Shindo and Hakubun Shimomura
along with Democratic Party of Japan representative Shozo Azuma — all of whom
are considered heavyweights within their respective parties — both sides
exchanged opinions on the development of Taiwan-Japan relationships, as well as
the political situation in Japan.
Due to the conflict with the Japan Coast Guard on the Diaoyutais issue on that
same day, Shindo broached the subject, stating that the archipelago was Japanese
sovereign territory, but both Taiwan and Japan could discuss fishing rights and
joint resource development in the area, Huang said. She added that Shindo’s
remarks met with the approval of the other two Japanese representatives.
Yao responded by reaffirming Taiwan’s claims of sovereignty over the
archipelago, adding that although there was currently some dispute over the
issue, because Japan had once colonized Taiwan and, geographically, the
archipelago had belonged to Taiwan at one time, the Japanese government should
“cede” the sovereignty of the territory to Taiwan.
Huang added she spoke on the sovereignty issue of the archipelago, stating that
both Taiwan and Japan recognized that the archipelago did not belong to the PRC
and that the two countries should jointly develop the economic zone around the
archipelago.
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