Islands at the center of a territorial row between Japan and China are covered by a military protection accord between Washington and Tokyo, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said on Monday.
“The United States does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands, but we do recognize they are under the administration of Japan and fall under our security treaty obligations,” Hagel said at a news conference with his Japanese counterpart, Itsunori Onodera.
Hagel’s comments came amid rising tensions over the uninhabited islands known in Japan as the Senkaku Islands, as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan and as the Diaoyu Archipelago (釣魚群島) by China.
On April 23, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to “expel by force” any Chinese landing on the islands after a flotilla sailed into the disputed waters in the East China Sea.
The Chinese flotilla was the biggest to do so in a single day since Japan nationalized part of the island chain in September last year.
Calling the dispute a key regional security challenge, Hagel said it “must be resolved peacefully and cooperatively between the parties involved.”
Washington “opposes any unilateral or coercive action that seeks to undermine Japan’s administrative control,” he said, in reference to the recent Chinese actions.
“Any actions that could raise tensions or lead to miscalculations affect the stability of the entire region,” he said.
In the talks with Hagel, Onodera said he “explained Japan’s basic position that the islands are clearly an inherent part of the territory of Japan in light of historical facts and based upon international law, and that Japan is determined to protect its land, water and air.”
Turning to North Korea, Hagel said the country’s “provocative behavior” was “the most obvious threat to stability in the region.”
“Minister Onodera and I agree that continued close coordination between US and Japanese forces will be essential for monitoring and responding to any further provocations, particularly cooperation on missile defense,” he said.
Hagel said progress had been made on plans to deploy a second TPY-2 radar to Japan. He confirmed the deployment of a second squadron of MV-22 Osprey aircraft to Japan this summer.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’