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Taiwan, Japan negotiating details of fishing commission meeting

ROC Central News Agency

2013/04/29 18:13:22

Taipei, April 29 (CNA) Taiwan and Japan are still negotiating the details of the first meeting of a bilateral fishing commission to address issues related to fishing in disputed waters in the East China Sea, a Taiwanese official said Monday.

"The two sides are still negotiating the matter," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Anna Kao told CNA.

Kao's remarks came after Japanese media reported recently that the two-day meeting was set to open that day in Tokyo.

The setting up of the commission is part of a historic agreement signed April 10 by Taiwan and Japan on fishing rights in their overlapping territories in the East China Sea, mainly around the Diaoyutai Islands, known in Japan as the Senkakus.

The signing of the pact came after on-and-off negotiations on the issue for nearly 17 years.

The commission consists of four members -- two from Taiwan and two from Japan, according to the agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, Taiwanese and Japanese boats can operate freely in a 74,300-square-kilometer area around the Diaoyutais, Taiwan's Fisheries Agency said.

This gives Taiwanese fishermen an additional 4,530 square kilometers in which they can operate free of harassment by the Japanese authorities, the agency said.

According to the agreement, the commission will also deal with other issues related to fishing in disputed waters. It will meet annually, with additional meetings convened if necessary.

Fisheries Agency Director-General James Sha told CNA in an earlier interview that the first meeting of the commission would be held by the end of April.

Issues on the agenda might include how to build mutual trust and establish a system to make fishery resources sustainable, as well as how Taiwan and Japan should regulate the operations of their own fishermen in the waters covered by the agreement, he said.

The Diaoyutais, some 100 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan, have been under Japan's administrative control since 1972 but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.

The surrounding waters have long been traditional fishing grounds for Taiwanese fishermen, but they are routinely chased away from the area by the Japanese authorities when they venture too close to what Japan sees as its territorial waters.

(By Elaine Hou)