“I happen to think that this is a sensible idea,” Paal said during an event at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, where he is vice president for studies. “We can find a solution to share the resources.”
On the same day, Ma outlined guidelines for implementing the peace initiative during a visit to Pengjia Islet, located near the Diaoyutais. The initiative, which he first proposed Aug. 5, calls on claimants to the island chain to set aside their differences, engage in dialogue to peacefully resolve the issue, and jointly develop the archipelago’s resources.
The Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun, citing Taiwan-based Central News Agency, reported that during Ma’s Pengjia visit, his first since assuming the presidency in 2008, the president called for Taiwan, Japan and mainland China to conduct bilateral discussions before progressing to trilateral talks on resolving the Diaoyutais issue. The newspaper reported that the Japanese government would not respond to Ma’s appeal as it does not recognize the fact that there is a territorial dispute over the island chain.
Japan’s national public broadcasting organization NHK said Sept. 7 that it is generally believed Ma’s visit to Pengjia was the result of raised tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over the Diaoyutais and was aimed at clearly demonstrating that the ROC is also an important stakeholder in the issue. (SB-THN)