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Taiwan must be stern with Japan on sovereignty dispute: lawmakers

ROC Central News Agency

2010/11/08 18:06:50

By Jenny W. Hsu

Taipei, Nov. 8 (CNA) Taiwan will never bend on its territorial claim over the Tiaoyutai Islands or compromise over an airspace fracas with Japan, Taiwan's top envoy to Japan said at a legislative interpellation session Monday.

The sovereignty feud over the group of uninhabited islands that lie in the East China Sea about 180 kilometers off Taiwan's northeast tip has long been a sticking-point in relations between Japan, Taiwan, and China, all of which claim rights over the area.

John Feng, head of the Taiwan's de facto embassy in Japan, said that to protect the rights of Taiwan's fishery industry, the government will not waver on its claim of sovereignty over the disputed islands.

Taiwan is determined to resolve the longstanding quagmire in a "peaceful and rational" manner without any cooperation with China, he said.

Japan's unilateral decision in June to expand its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is another factor that has caused a rift in bilateral ties.

According to Taiwan, the expansion has encroached upon its airspace.

Drawn by the U.S. military just after World War II, the original ADIZ demarcation between Taiwan and Japan lay along longitude 123 degrees east and splits the airspace over Japan's Yonaguni Island in half. The division entitles Japan to the airspace east of the line while the area west of the line falls under Taiwan's jurisdiction.

The new ADIZ drawn up by the Japanese Ministry of Defense extends 22 km from the baseline, with an additional 3.7 km as a buffer zone. The redrawn zone creates an overlap with Taiwanese airspace.

The Foreign Ministry immediately released a statement to emphasize Taiwan's refusal to accept Japan's version of the ADIZ and called upon Tokyo to establish a channel of communication to resolve the matter based on aviation control and security.

Japan has not made any official response to the call.

"We must make a stern declaration to let the Japanese know the seriousness of the matter. Although we share a strong friendship with Japan, it is still necessary to make our stance known, " said Justin Chou, a lawmaker of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT).

KMT Legislator Shuai Hua-ming, a former general, said that besides a strong declaration by the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of National Defense must also take action to express Taiwan's indignation over Japan's unilateral decision.

"When it's time to be tough, then we should be tough," he said.

Feng responded that the Foreign Ministry and the Defense Ministry are in close contact regarding the matter, and he reiterated that Taiwan will not make any concessions to Japan over the issue.