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Taiwan-Japan fishing commission set to hold first prep meeting

ROC Central News Agency

2013/04/30 19:53:28

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) The first preparatory meeting for a fishing commission set up by Taiwan and Japan will be held this week to deal with issues related to fishing in disputed waters in the East China Sea, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

The two-day meeting, to begin Wednesday in Tokyo, will discuss the operations of the new bilateral fishing commission and the follow-up to a historic fishing pact signed between Taiwan and Japan earlier this month, the ministry said.

The agenda will also include fishing regulations and the management of fishing resources in the area defined in the agreement, said Su Chii-cherng, deputy director-general of the ministry's Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Taiwan's delegation will comprise officials from the foreign ministry and the Fisheries Agency, he said, but declined to give any additional details.

The closed-door meeting will take place at the headquarters of Japan's Interchange Association, according to a statement issued by its Taipei office the same day.

A statement will be released after the meeting ends on Thursday, said the association, which represents Japanese interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties.

The establishment of a bilateral commission was part of the 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 comprises 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, the Fisheries Agency said.

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

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)