Politics

NSC establishes Diaoyutais response team

CGA officials inspect a fishing boat carrying Hong Kong activists bound for the Diaoyutais Aug. 14 off the coast of Taichung. (CNA)

• Publication Date：08/15/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today

A special response team has been set up under the ROC National Security Council to monitor developments involving the Diaoyutai Archipelago, according to the Presidential Office Aug. 14.

Headed by NSC Secretary-General Hu Wei-chen, the task force comprises officials from the Coast Guard Administration, Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

At the team’s first meeting it was decided to offer humanitarian support to Hong Kong activists heading for the archipelago to protest an upcoming visit by Japanese lawmakers to the islands.

“In consideration of Typhoon Kai-tak, the ROC government will make supplies available and allow the group’s vessel to shelter at a Taiwan port should the request be made,” the Presidential Office said.

Activists from Taiwan and mainland China originally planned to join their Hong Kong counterparts but cancelled the trip because they could not hire a suitable ship.

The Diaoyutais are an uninhabited archipelago located roughly 170 kilometers northeast of Taiwan proper. The tiny island group is an inalienable part of ROC territory and includes Diaoyutai Island and the islets of Huangwei and Chiwei. (JSM)

Write to Rachel Chan at ccchan@mofa.gov.tw