Five days after the collision between a Taiwanese fishing boat and a Japanese coast guard patrol boat near the Diaoyutai (釣魚台) islands, Japan’s representative to Taiwan expressed Tokyo’s regret over the incident to Ho Hung-yi (何鴻義), the captain of the fishing boat.
Koichi Ito, director of the General Affairs Department under the Taipei Office of the Interchange Association--- the de-facto Japanese embassy in Taipei--- visited Ho yesterday afternoon at his home in Rueifang Township (瑞芳), Taipei County, with personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ito said that the patrol boat Koshiki had not rammed Ho’s boat on purpose.
Ito did not use the word “apology” in his statement yesterday. He said, however, that the Japanese Coast Guard would compensate Ho as required by law.
On Tuesday, the day of the accident, Ito said the collision had occurred “in Japan’s territorial waters,” but said “the incident should be handled so as not to influence the positive relations between Tokyo and Taipei.”
APOLOGY WANTED
Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) told a press conference yesterday that although Japan had shown its goodwill by releasing the people who were aboard the Taiwanese boat and agreeing to compensate them, “we are not satisfied with Japan’s lack of a formal apology.”
“We will continue to work hard to obtain a formal apology from Japan,” Ou said.
He said the government’s priority was to resolve the incident and protect the rights of the fishermen involved.
“All issues regarding the dispute over the sovereignty [of the Diaoyutais] will be discussed later as we engage in further negotiations with Japan,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) visited Ho and said the government would file a lawsuit in a local court against Japan for detaining Ho for four days.
“We will help Captain Ho, who owns the boat, seek compensation for losses and an apology from the Japanese government,” Hsueh said.
“Since the Diaoyutais are part of the Republic of China’s territory, we will file the suit in Taiwan, on the grounds that the Japanese patrol illegally intruded into the country’s territorial waters,” he said.
TOUGHEN UP
Ho said the government must take a tougher stance and hold a press conference with foreign media “to tell the whole world of Japan’s arrogance.”
“It was entirely their [the Japanese coast guards’] fault. I did nothing wrong ... They rammed their boat into my small fishing boat on purpose. That should count as [attempted] premeditated murder,” Ho said.
Hsueh said he would help Ho obtain an interest-free loan to cover the damages and said the Executive Yuan would increase from three to seven the number of navy patrols protecting the nation’s fishing boats in its territorial waters.
Meanwhile, Representative to Japan Koh Se-kai (許世楷) returned to Taipei last night after the ministry recalled him on Saturday to report on his contact with the Japanese government over the incident.
Ou confirmed yesterday that the recall was a form of diplomatic protest, but said it did not mean that Koh would not return to Japan.
At a meeting with colleagues in Tokyo yesterday, Koh reportedly said that the ministry should “handle the incident rationally,” given that “maintaining good relations with Japan is crucial to Taiwan.”
The Japanese word for “regret” can also mean “apology,” said Koh at a press conference late last night after a 45-minute closed door meeting with Ou.
“In many instances throughout the history, Japan used the word ‘regret’ to express its apology,” he said.
When asked if the ministry would accept such answer, Ou smiled and said: “We can feel Japan’s good will in their response in this matter.”
Koh said that many people in Japan have expressed that they hope the incident will not damage bilateral relations.
Also See: DPP criticizes KMT over recall of envoy
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
NATURAL INTERRUPTION: As cables deteriorate, core wires snap in progression along the cable, which does not happen if they are hit by an anchor, an official said Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) immediately switched to a microwave backup system to maintain communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County (Matsu) after two undersea cables malfunctioned due to natural deterioration, the Ministry of Digital Affairs told an emergency news conference yesterday morning. Two submarine cables connecting Taiwan proper and the outlying county — the No. 2 and No. 3 Taiwan-Matsu cables — were disconnected early yesterday morning and on Wednesday last week respectively, the nation’s largest telecom said. “After receiving the report that the No. 2 cable had failed, the ministry asked Chunghwa Telecom to immediately activate a microwave backup system, with
RSS