Taiwan protests against Japanese politician’s visit to Tiaoyutais

Taiwan has lodged a protest with Japan over a Japanese politician’s recent trip to the Tiaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday, days after Japan demanded a Taiwanese vessel leave waters surrounding the disputed island group.

“The Tiaoyutais are an inherent territory of the Republic of China (Taiwan),”the ministry said in a statement.

On July 5, a group led by a Japanese politician from the island of Okinawa landed on the Tiaoyutais and stayed there for about one hour before leaving.

In the wake of the incident, Taiwan filed a protest with the Japan Interchange Association in Taipei, a quasi-official organisation established to handle bilateral affairs in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

Japan should act in a”peaceful and rational”manner and refrain from taking any unilateral action that may harm existing friendly relations, the statement said.

On July 4, a Taiwanese boat carrying activists entered waters off the island chain. It was spotted and told to leave by Japanese coastal patrol boats, after which Japan lodged a protest with Taiwan that was rejected by the foreign ministry.

The Tiaoyutai Islands, known as the Diaoyutai Islands in China and the Senkaku Islands in Japan, are located about 100 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan.They are also claimed by China and Japan. They are also claimed by China and Japan.-By Nancy Liu

http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201207060029

 

Category: Taiwan