|
Ma’s Diaoyutai
Islands stance wrong: DPP
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The political philosophy and behavior of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) concerning
the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) is fundamentally wrong and risks creating the false
perception that Taiwan sides with China at the expense of its relations with
Japan, a senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official said yesterday.
“Placing the sovereignty issue at the forefront of the bilateral dispute is a
fatal mistake because it escalates tensions and increases mistrust” between
Taiwan and Japan, a senior DPP official familiar with the issue said.
The official wished to remain anonymous because his comments did not represent
the DPP’s official position.
By saying “we will not give one inch” on sovereignty and sending five coast
guard vessels to escort a fishing boat full of activists waving a People’s
Republic of China (PRC) flag in the waters around the Diaoyutais, Ma is sending
“confused and misleading signals” to Japan and the US, the official said.
Ma’s message is particularly difficult to understand given that the US
Department of State recently reaffirmed that the Diaoyutais, known as the
Senkakus in Japan, fall within the region defined in the bilateral Treaty of
Mutual Cooperation and Security between the US and Japan, he said.
“At the end of the day, Ma’s approach not only fails to resolve the sovereignty
dispute, it also raises tensions and gives people the impression that Taiwan is
on the same side as China,” he said.
In contrast, the DPP prioritized the fishing rights of Taiwanese fishermen over
sovereignty, as seen by the seven rounds of fishing rights talks held under the
former DPP administration. As a result it was able to forge closer bilateral
ties and persuade Japan to recognize Taiwanese drivers’ licenses, despite the
dispute over the islands, the official said.
Although the DPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) agree that Taiwan
claims sovereignty over the islets, they have different philosophies, said DPP
New Taipei City (新北市) office director Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), an expert on
international politics.
“For the DPP, the Diaoyutais are part of Taiwan. Period. For the KMT, the
Diaoyutais belong to Taiwan and Taiwan is part of China,” he said.
Ma’s philosophy has made Beijing a major player in the game, Lo said, because
“Beijing cannot claim sovereignty over the Diaoyutais without claiming
sovereignty over Taiwan.”
It has also jeopardized Taiwan’s sovereignty, Lo said.
Lo made a similar observation about the DPP’s strategy of setting aside the
dispute over sovereignty and promoting cooperation in other areas, such as
fishing rights.
If the strategy works for other claimants of territory in the South China Sea,
it should work for Taiwan and Japan over the Diaoyutai Islands, Lo said.
However, not all DPP members are on the same page. DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po
(陳歐珀), who said he supported the “fishing rights first” approach, condemned
Japan’s recent blocking of Taiwanese fishing boats from his constituency of
Yilan County in the area and said he was considering visiting the islands
himself.
Lo said Chen’s planned visit was “a matter of concern” and was unlikely to help
create a more positive atmosphere as the two sides work to resolve the
territorial dispute.
|
