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President calls for talks on development of Diaoyutais resources

ROC Central News Agency

2013/02/23 20:18:39

Taipei, Feb. 23 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou called Saturday for negotiations to develop the resources in the disputed Diaoyutais and reiterated that Taiwan holds sovereignty over the island chain.

While sovereignty cannot be shared, resources can, Ma said in a meeting with top executives of the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun.

Ma said the islands are an inherent part of the Republic of China (Taiwan) territory and all claimants should set aside their disputes and discuss how to jointly explore the resources in the waters near the islets.

This would be in the best interests of the people in the region, Ma told Sankei Shimbun Co. Chairman Takehiko Kiyohara and board member Yideya Yamamoto.

Ma also reiterated that the waters near the Diaoyutais traditionally have been fishing grounds for Taiwanese, adding that this was a view supported by the Japanese government during its colonization of Taiwan.

Ma's comments came in the wake of statements made in Washington Friday by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the dispute among Japan, China and Taiwan over the islets in the resource-rich East China Sea.

A territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands – as they are called in Japan – does not exist and Japan is reluctant to see tensions grow over the islands, Abe said at a press conference in Washington, D.C. after a meeting with U.S. Presidnt Barack Obama.

The prime minister said the U.S. and Japan have common interests and he urged cooperation in maintaining free navigation at sea and preventing threats or provocation.

Abe said China-Japan relations are of great importance in the world and he expressed hopes for talks with China's new leader Xi Jinping on various issues.

Tensions over the Diaoyutais, controlled by Japan but claimed by Taiwan and China, have been growing since Tokyo purchased three of the islets from their private owner last September. The move sparked huge anti-Japan protests and consumer boycotts in China.

In recent months, the two countries have sporadically deployed patrol ships and planes to the area to assert their territorial claims.

Last year, Taiwan boats exchanged water cannon fire with Japanese coast guard cutters during a mission by Taiwanese fishermen to assert their right to fish in the waters near the islands.

(By Kelven Huang, Tony Liao and Scully Hsiao)
ENDITEM /pc