The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday accused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration of being “soft” in defense of the nation’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台).
Known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan, the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea are claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan.
The territorial dispute has re-emerged amid reported plans by authorities in Ishigaki, in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, to change the administrative designation of the islands from Tonoshiro to “Tonoshiro Senkaku.”
Photo: CNA
KMT Culture and Communications Committee chairwoman Alicia Wang (王育敏) said that the Tsai administration’s efforts to defend the nation’s sovereignty over the islands and the rights of Taiwanese fishers compared poorly with those of former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
While the Ma administration proposed the East China Sea peace initiative to maintain regional peace, Tsai’s government has “proposed nothing,” she said.
Ma’s administration said that the nation would not give up “one inch” of sovereignty over the islands, Tsai’s response has been “very quiet,” Wang said.
Tsai on Wednesday last week said that it has been the government’s “consistent stance” that the Diaoyutais are the nation’s territory, adding that her government supports setting aside disputes to make way for joint development of resources in the region, and a peaceful solution among the parties involved to maintain regional peace and stability.
Wang said that while Ma visited Pengjia Islet (彭佳嶼) to reassert Taiwan’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands, Tsai “does not dare” accept an invitation from Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tzu-miao (林姿妙) to visit the islands.
Lin, a KMT member, on Monday last week proposed a visit by Tsai, while KMT Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) on Thursday on Facebook invited Tsai to join him and Yilan County fishers on a trip to the Diaoyutais.
Under Republic of China law, Yilan’s Toucheng Township (頭城) has authority over the islands.
The DPP government should not allow the nation’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutais to be violated, the KMT said.
The party called on Tsai to lodge a protest with Japan’s representative in Taiwan, and warn that a name change would have a severe impact on bilateral exchanges and friendly relations.
Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) should convey the nation’s position to Tokyo, the KMT said.
The DPP government should send Coast Guard Administration vessels to the waters around the Diaoyutais to defend the nation’s sovereignty and fishing rights, as Ma did, the KMT added.
It also called for the resumption of a Taiwan-Japan fisheries commission to protect the rights of Taiwanese fishers.
The Ishigaki City Council is expected to vote on the issue on Monday next week, media reports said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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