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Ma stands firm on Diaoyutai sovereignty

ROC President Ma Ying-jeou urges Japan to respect ROC sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Archipelago. (CNA)

• Publication Date：07/09/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today

ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said July 7 that he would not “concede a single inch” regarding the nation’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Archipelago, despite ongoing efforts to improve relations with Japan.

“The relationship between the ROC and Japan has never been better than it is now, but the Diaoyutai issue is a separate matter,” he said.

Ma made the comments after the media reported earlier the same day that the Japanese government was in negotiations to purchase the Diaoyutais from private owners with the aim of nationalizing the island chain.

The ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reiterated that the archipelago is an integral part of ROC territory and urged Japan to refrain from any words or deeds that might infringe on ROC sovereignty over them.

MOFA said it had immediately expressed its concerns to the Interchange Association in Taipei, Japan’s de facto embassy in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties, and also notified Taiwan’s representative office in Japan to relay its concerns to Tokyo.

The government’s consistent position is to work to resolve disputed claims based on the principles of ROC sovereignty over the islands, the shelving of disputes, peace and reciprocity, and joint development, the ministry said.

The ROC government will continue to monitor developments in the region and adopt necessary measures at the appropriate time, it added.

In addition, MOFA lodged a protest with the Interchange Association July 6 after learning that six local councilors from Okinawa prefecture had carried out a diving survey in waters around the island chain and had briefly landed on one of the islands the previous day.

The ministry urged Japanese authorities to handle the Diaoyutai issue in a rational manner and not to take any inappropriate unilateral actions that could have a negative impact on friendly relations between the two countries.

The Diaoyutais are an uninhabited island group, historically attached to the ROC, located approximately 170 kilometers northeast of Taiwan proper. (SB-THN)