The political philosophy and behavior of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) concerning the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) is fundamentally wrong and risks creating the false perception that Taiwan sides with China at the expense of its relations with Japan, a senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) official said yesterday.
“Placing the sovereignty issue at the forefront of the bilateral dispute is a fatal mistake because it escalates tensions and increases mistrust” between Taiwan and Japan, a senior DPP official familiar with the issue said.
The official wished to remain anonymous because his comments did not represent the DPP’s official position.
By saying “we will not give one inch” on sovereignty and sending five coast guard vessels to escort a fishing boat full of activists waving a People’s Republic of China (PRC) flag in the waters around the Diaoyutais, Ma is sending “confused and misleading signals” to Japan and the US, the official said.
Ma’s message is particularly difficult to understand given that the US Department of State recently reaffirmed that the Diaoyutais, known as the Senkakus in Japan, fall within the region defined in the bilateral Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the US and Japan, he said.
“At the end of the day, Ma’s approach not only fails to resolve the sovereignty dispute, it also raises tensions and gives people the impression that Taiwan is on the same side as China,” he said.
In contrast, the DPP prioritized the fishing rights of Taiwanese fishermen over sovereignty, as seen by the seven rounds of fishing rights talks held under the former DPP administration. As a result it was able to forge closer bilateral ties and persuade Japan to recognize Taiwanese drivers’ licenses, despite the dispute over the islands, the official said.
Although the DPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) agree that Taiwan claims sovereignty over the islets, they have different philosophies, said DPP New Taipei City (新北市) office director Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), an expert on international politics.
“For the DPP, the Diaoyutais are part of Taiwan. Period. For the KMT, the Diaoyutais belong to Taiwan and Taiwan is part of China,” he said.
Ma’s philosophy has made Beijing a major player in the game, Lo said, because “Beijing cannot claim sovereignty over the Diaoyutais without claiming sovereignty over Taiwan.”
It has also jeopardized Taiwan’s sovereignty, Lo said.
Lo made a similar observation about the DPP’s strategy of setting aside the dispute over sovereignty and promoting cooperation in other areas, such as fishing rights.
If the strategy works for other claimants of territory in the South China Sea, it should work for Taiwan and Japan over the Diaoyutai Islands, Lo said.
However, not all DPP members are on the same page. DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), who said he supported the “fishing rights first” approach, condemned Japan’s recent blocking of Taiwanese fishing boats from his constituency of Yilan County in the area and said he was considering visiting the islands himself.
Lo said Chen’s planned visit was “a matter of concern” and was unlikely to help create a more positive atmosphere as the two sides work to resolve the territorial dispute.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS