Politics

MOFA dismisses Japan’s Diaoyutai protest

The ROC maintains its sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands through routine patrols with vessels such as the Shun Hu No. 6. (Courtesy of CGA)

• Publication Date：06/27/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Grace Kuo

The Diaoyutai Archipelago is an integral part of ROC territory that is routinely patrolled by the nation’s Coast Guard Administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said June 26.

MOFA made the remarks after Japan Broadcasting Corp. and the Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese daily, reported that a Taiwanese coastal patrol vessel left the waters surrounding one of the archipelago’s islands—Chiwei Islet—20 minutes after its Japanese counterpart issued a warning.

The CGA said in a statement that its patrol vessel Shun Hu No. 6 encountered a boat from the Japan Coast Guard at 25 degrees 59 minutes north latitude and 124 degrees 22 minutes east longitude, 12.5 nautical miles off Chiwei Islet earlier in the day.

“Conflicts between the two sides did not take place nor was there an occurrence of the situation depicted by the Japanese media,” the CGA said. “We regret that the Japanese media covered the situation so inaccurately and will lodge our protests through suitable channels.”

MOFA added that the Japan Interchange Association has filed a complaint with MOFA’s Association of East Asian Relations, but that “we have rejected their protest.”

Located 170 kilometers northeast of the northern tip of Taiwan, the Diaoyutai Archipelago, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, is a tiny island group historically attached to the ROC.

The archipelago, measuring 612.18 hectares, includes Chiwei Islet, Diaoyutai Island, Huangwei Islet, and Northern and Southern islets. It is administered by Toucheng Township of eastern Taiwan’s Yilan County. (HZW)

Write to Grace Kuo at mlkuo@mofa.gov.tw