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Little progress in 2nd Taiwan-Japan fishery meeting

ROC Central News Agency

2013/03/13 22:58:41

Taipei, March 13 (CNA) Taiwan and Japan held a preparatory meeting on fishing rights Wednesday but failed to reach consensus on issues of fishing areas and the management of fishing resources, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said later in the day.

The ministry issued a statement after the meeting in Tokyo, which sought to pave the way for a new round of bilateral talks on fishing rights in overlapping territorial waters in the East China Sea.

The statement did not give any details of the discussions.

According to sources, Taiwan was hoping to expand its fishing areas in the disputed waters, but Japan rejected that proposal.

Japan's Interchange Association also issued a statement Wednesday, saying that both sides exchanged views on issues related to a potential agreement on fishing rights but failed to reach consensus.

The association represents Japanese interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.

Taiwan and Japan, however, agreed to hold the next meeting as soon as possible, according to the two statements.

Taiwan's delegation to the meeting was headed by Chou Shyue-yow, an official from Taiwan's representative office in Tokyo, and also included Foreign Ministry, Fisheries Agency and Coast Guard Administration officials.

Japan's delegation was led by Michihiko Komatsu, head of the Interchange Association's general affairs section, and included officials from Japan's fishery, foreign affairs and sea patrol agencies.

Chou said during the meeting that Taiwan is seeking to reach consensus with Japan on the management of fishing resources and that it expects each side to pledge respect for the other's fishing rights before an agreement is signed, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry.

Chou also took the opportunity to reiterate Taiwan's sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands, saying that Taiwan will seek to address the dispute on the principles of safeguarding sovereignty, shelving differences, pursuing peace and reciprocity and jointly exploring resources, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry.

An initial preparatory meeting took place in Tokyo last Nov. 30, but little progress was made on that occasion, either.

Taiwan and Japan have held 16 formal rounds of talks on fishing rights in their overlapping territories since 1996, the most recent of which took place in 2009.

No new talks have been held since then due to differences on how to resolve fishery issues that mostly involve waters near the disputed Diaoyutais in the East China Sea.

The two countries are hoping that a series of substantive preparatory meetings will help iron out some of the differences and improve the chance of success in a 17th round of talks.

The Diaoyutais lie about 100 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan. They have been under Japan's administrative 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 Yang Ming-chu and Elaine Hou)