Taiwan 'will not play deaf' if national security threatened: minister
ROC Central News Agency
2010/11/10 20:24:57
Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) The government will lodge a stern protest if surveillance facilities on Japan's Yonaguni Island threaten Taiwan's national security, Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy C.T. Yang stressed Wednesday.
"We will not play deaf, " Yang said in answer to a question by Legislator Tsai Huang-liang of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party at a Legislative hearing on Japan's decision to set up a 200-member "coast monitoring squad" on Yonaguni, the country's westernmost territory.
Tsai and other members of the legislative Foreign and National Defense Committee voiced concerns after learning from Japanese media reports that Tokyo has decided to deploy a surveillance force on Yonaguni -- 111 kilometers east of Taiwan -- to monitor China's maritime movements on the East China Sea, which includes the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands.
Tsai said he is concerned that Japan's surveillance operations will include Taiwan, and even that Japan's Self-Defence Forces might enter Taiwan's waters.
Yang replied that he understands Japan's deployment, and his office will definitely protest if it threatens Taiwan's national security.
Yang reiterated Taiwan's sovereignty over the Tiaoyutai, which lie 200 kilometers northeast of Taiwan, saying the government will convey its claim through all possible channels.
Taiwan, China and Japan all claim sovereignty over the Tiaoyutais, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyutais in China. (By Emmanuelle Tzeng and Elizabeth Hsu) enditem/MH
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