Unnamed sources in the government announced Wednesday that Taiwan’s claims to sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands will be introduced into middle and high school curricula in 2015. The islands are disputed territory, under de facto Japanese control but also claimed by Mainland China and Taiwan.
Students will be shown a short film on Taiwan’s claim to the islands and on President Ma Ying-jeou’s East China Sea Peace Initiative. The East China Sea Peace Initiative asserts Taiwan’s sovereignty over the island group, but calls for joint exploration of resources in the area and peaceful resolution of disputes.
The government’s move comes a day after Mainland China launched a website asserting Chinese claims to sovereignty over the islands. Japan, which refers to the group as the Senkaku Islands, has long had a multilingual website of its own, outlining Japanese claims to the islands.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry has a section devoted to the Diaoyutai Islands on its homepage as well as information about Taiwan’s claims on its YouTube channel.