Next Taiwan-Japan meeting on fishing rights not yet set: ministry
ROC Central News Agency
2013/02/26 15:16:02
Taipei, Feb. 26 (CNA) Taiwan and Japan are still negotiating the details of the next preparatory meeting for a new round of bilateral fishery talks, a Taiwanese foreign affairs official said Tuesday.
"So far, the date has yet to be set," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Steve Hsia said, adding that the two sides are still discussing the meeting's time and place.
Japanese media reported recently that Taiwan and Japan are scheduled to hold the preparatory meeting to address fishing rights in waters off the Diaoyutai Islands on Feb. 28.
Asked about the report, Hsia said at a news briefing that Japan had made suggestions but that further discussion was needed between the two sides to finalize the date, location and agenda of the preparatory meeting.
Hsia reiterated Taiwan's hope that the meeting be held in late February or early March.
The first preparatory meeting took place in Tokyo on Nov. 30, 2012, with little progress being made.
Taiwan and Japan have held 16 formal rounds of talks on fishing rights in their overlapping territories since 1996, the most recent coming in 2009.
But no new talks have been held since then due to differences on how to resolve the cross-border fishery disputes.
The two countries are hoping that these preparatory meetings will give a new round of formal talks a greater chance of success than in the past, the ministry said.
The Diaoyutais lie about 100 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan. They have been under Japan's control since 1972, but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.
Taiwanese fishermen consider the waters near the islands to be their traditional fishing grounds, but they are routinely chased away from the area by Japanese authorities when they venture too close to what Japan sees as its territorial waters.
(By Elaine Hou)
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