Taiwan to follow Japan's troop deployment on southernmost island
ROC Central News Agency
2011/11/18 19:06:18
By Chen Pei-huang and Deborah Kuo
Taipei, Nov. 18 (CNA) Taiwan will watch closely whether Japan deploys self-defense troops on the country's southernmost Yonaguni Island, Deputy Defense Minister Andrew Yang sand Friday.
The Defense Ministry respects any decision Japan makes on the deployment of military forces on its territory, Yang said, but the ministry will still monitor all related developments.
"We will be watching closely the Yonaguni deployment reports so as to prepare to make effective responses," he said.
Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported Thursday that Japan's military has decided to deploy members of its Self-Defense Forces to Yonaguni Island to defend the island against Chinese incursions.
Yonaguni, which is part of Okinawa Prefecture but actually lies closer to Taiwan (about 108 kilometers east of Hualien County) than to the main island of Okinawa, is also the closest spot of inhabited land to the Tiaoyutai Islands (known as the Senkakus in Japan).
The Tiaoyutais, said to be rich in oil deposits, are controlled by Japan but also claimed by Taiwan and China. The competing claims have led Japan to focus more on protecting its sovereignty over them and other islands in its southern flank.
In September 2010, the Japanese seizure of a Chinese fishing vessel for trespassing in seas near the Tiaoyutais set off a major row between the two East Asian powers.
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