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President to advocate peace on visit to isle near Tiaoyutais

ROC Central News Agency

2012/09/06 18:07:36

Taipei, Sept. 6 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou will lay out the details to realize his "East China Sea Peace Initiative" when he visits an islet near the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands Friday, according to Presidential Office spokesman Fan Chiang Tai-chi.

"The main item on the president's itinerary during his visit to Pengjia Islet will be a speech on the action plan for a peace initiative he put forward last month to resolve the sovereignty dispute over the Taioyutais," Fan Chiang said in an interview Thursday.

Ma came up with the East China Sea Peace Initiative on Aug. 5 amid escalating spats among neighboring countries over the uninhabited island chain.

While reaffirming Taiwan's claim to the Tiaoyutais in his five- point initiative, Ma also called for all claimants to shelve their differences, pursue peace and reciprocity and jointly explore the resources in the area.

Located about 100 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan in the East China Sea, the Tiaoyutais are now controlled by Japan but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.

The dispute over the cluster of isles, known as the Senkakus in Japan and Diaoyu Islands in China, sparked a diplomatic row between Japan and China after activists from Hong Kong and Japan made separate landings there in August to ramp up their countries’ sovereignty claims.

Ma's upcoming visit to Pengjia Islet, which lies 33 nautical miles off Taiwan's northernmost tip and 76 nautical miles west of the Tiaoyutais, also comes amid media reports that the Japanese government has decided to buy three islets in the island group from their private owner to underscore its claim.

Apart from giving a speech, President Ma will inspect a weather observation station and a Coast Guard Administration outpost on Pengjia and tour a century-old lighthouse, Fan Chiang said.

A group of senior government officials, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties, and journalists will accompany Ma on his first visit to the country's northernmost territory.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard Administration said Thursday it will dispatch seven vessels to patrol the waters off Taiwan's northern and northeastern coasts and conduct emergency rescue drills to ensure President Ma's safety.

(By Lee Shu-hua, Liu Chien-pang and Sofia Wu)