Taiwan to monitor Japanese military deployment near Diaoyutais
ROC Central News Agency
2015/11/24 22:31:26
Taipei, Nov. 24 (CNA) Taiwan said Tuesday that it will keep a close eye on developments in the East China Sea following a report that Japan plans to deploy about 500 troops on an island some 150 kilometers from the disputed Diaoyutai Islands.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eleanor Wang (王珮玲) said the ministry has seen the Japanese media report that Japan is planning to send a 500-strong Self-Defense Force (SDF) group to the island of Ishigaki in an effort to bolster the country's defense of its southwestern islands.
'According to our understanding, the plan is Japan's response to other countries' naval activities in the East China Sea and part of its efforts to strengthen patrols in the area,' Wang said.
Taiwan will continue to keep close tabs on developments in the region, she added.
Citing President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) East China Sea peace initiative, Wang also urged the parties concerned to refrain from any actions that could escalate tension in the region, to abide by international law, to seek peaceful resolutions and to jointly maintain regional stability and prosperity.
Wang's remarks came in response to a report carried that day by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper that Japan plans to deploy the SDF group on Ishigaki. It said the plan was a response measure after Chinese naval ships sailed near the Diaoyutais earlier this month, as part of Beijing's increased activities in the disputed region.
The uninhabited Diaoyutais, some 100 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan, have been under Japan's administrative control since 1972 but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.
(By Elaine Hou)
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