Taiwan’s claim of sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) is likely to be both “difficult and challenging,” a Washington conference was told on Wednesday.
Former deputy US assistant secretary of state for East Asia Randy Schriver said that of the three claimants to the islands, Taiwan was by far the smallest and held the least national power.
“And if you look historically, small claimants don’t tend to do well when disputes heat up,” he said.
“Taiwan has a difficult road to navigate between its most important economic partner, the People’s Republic of China [PRC], and its most important security partners, Japan and the alliance,” he said.
“It is extremely delicate,” he said.
Shriver told the conference on “Taiwan’s Approach to Escalating Sovereignty Disputes in East Asia” held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, that “elections and selections” in Japan, China, the US and South Korea could make things even more complex.
“With all of these things bubbling up, you are talking about a hyper-charged environment informed by domestic politics,” he said.
The convener of the national security division at the National Policy Foundation, Stephen Chen (陳錫蕃), laid out Taiwan’s sovereignty claims to the islands in detail at the conference.
However, Shriver said Taiwan was the only claimant that lacked an internal consensus on the issue.
“There is strong consensus in Japan, there is strong consensus in the PRC, but there is no consensus in Taiwan that they should be a claimant and should be trying to assert sovereignty,” he said.
On the more positive side, Shriver said that Taiwan was not facing an election and could be more flexible, had put forward a five point initiative that could set or drive the agenda and had the most clear bottom line, which for Taiwan was fisheries.
All of this could lead to a pathway to negotiation and resolution, he said.
Shriver said the situation might become clearer next spring when, elections over, political leaders would start thinking about “governance rather than campaigning.”
At that time, he said, things might calm down and the US could intensify its diplomacy, leaving Taiwan with a role “if it plays its cards correctly.”
The director of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center, Alan Romberg, said the island issue was complicated and the history was “obviously in very significant dispute.”
Romberg said that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had put forward suggestions he hoped would be a catalyst for peaceful management of disputes in both the East and South China Seas.
However, in trying to enhance Taiwan’s sovereignty claims, Ma, driven by domestic politics, went beyond the suggestions and peace plan by “encouraging and praising” a flotilla of fishing and coast guard boats that approached the islands and became involved in a water- canon fight with Japanese vessels.
“What Ma wants to achieve is a good fishing result [in negotiations with Japan] that will be acceptable to the fishing interests in Taiwan,” Romberg said.
He said that Ma’s peace initiative was generally consistent with US views and that no one expected Taiwan to give up sovereignty claims.
“But taking provocative steps is not conducive to peace — the emphasis should be on dialogue and diplomacy,” Romberg said.
He said the flotilla movement was clearly not a military action and that Taipei had no intention of creating lasting tensions with Tokyo.
Nevertheless, it had triggered political passions and created dangers that could have gotten out of hand with miscalculations and accidents.
Ma’s encouragement of the flotilla was “unhelpful” and was not part of the “measured and calm” steps the US wants to foster.
Romberg said he did not see “any of this having serious impact on Taiwan US relations,” but that it underscored the importance of close consultation between Taipei and Washington on a timely basis.
The discussion ended on a sour note when Chen became involved in an angry exchange during the question period with Washington-based liaison for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Michael Fonte.
Fonte disputed Chen’s claim that the San Francisco Peace Treaty ceded the Diaoyutai Islands to Taiwan and said their ownership was still undecided.
Chen accused Fonte of deliberately omitting facts and twisting history when all Fonte really wanted to say was that the people of Taiwan had the right to self-determination.
“I am happy to say that,” Fonte said.
Romberg said there were different views on how various treaties dealt with the ownership of Taiwan and of the Diaoyutai Islands.
He said the US “sidesteps” the question of Taiwan’s ownership and regards the relationship between Taiwan and China as something the two sides should settle peacefully themselves.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS