Taiwan to monitor movements on Japanese island
ROC Central News Agency
2013/03/01 21:17:17
Taipei, March 1 (CNA) Taiwan will closely monitor any possible deployment of troops on Japan's westernmost island, a foreign ministry spokesman said Friday, describing the reported move as being strategically sensitive.
The Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun said that Tokyo will likely decide in April to deploy Self Defense forces and coastal monitoring units on Yonaguni island, the westernmost inhabited island of Japan located some 108 kilometers from the east coast of Taiwan.
The Foreign Ministry has seen the report and will continue to monitor closely future developments given the island's proximity to Taiwan and its strategic sensitivity, said Steve Shia, the ministry spokesman.
Based on the East China Sea Peace Iniative proposed by President Ma Ying-jeou last August, Taiwan calls on all relevant parties to show restraint and not to engage in activities that might increase tensions in the region, he said.
Taiwan also hopes that all parties will try to resolve differences peacefully in accordance with international law for the sake of regional stability, Shia added.
The Yomiuri Shimbun based its report on the planned deployment on a draft document on Japan's maritime policy to be presented to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet for a final decision.
The document outlines specific measures to be taken in order to protect Japan's maritime interests, including improved security and management of outlying islands like Yonaguni, which has a population of some 1,700, according to the newspaper.
The recommendations come at a time of heightened tensions over territorial disputes in East China Sea, particularly between Japan and China but also between Japan and Taiwan.
(By Angela Tsai, Ming-chu Yang and Jay Chen)
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