Taiwan’s foreign ministry says the Diaoyutai Islands are still under Taiwan’s sovereignty. That’s after Japan’s Ishigaki Municipal Assembly voted on Monday to change the administrative designation of the islands from Tonoshiro to “Tonoshiro Senkaku”.
Taiwan, Japan and China all lay claim to the uninhabited islands located in the East China Sea.
In Taiwan, Foreign ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said on Monday that the ministry has protested to Japan over the move. Taiwan has called on Japan to act prudently and not make any unilateral moves to interfere with Taiwan’s sovereignty over the islands, which it calls “Diaoyutai”. She also said Taiwan will use peaceful and rational means to deal with any sovereignty disputes.
Meanwhile, the northeastern Taiwan county of Yilan is proposing to change Taiwan’s name for the islands. Yilan County Magistrate Lin Zi-miao said on Monday that the Yilan County Council has voted to change the official name of the Diaoyutai Islands to “Toucheng Diaoyutai”. She said they have already sent the proposal to the Ministry of Interior.
Lin said she would protect Taiwan’s fishing rights in the area. She called on the central government to stand with the Yilan County Government to protect the rights of Yilan’s fishermen.
Japanese media reports are saying Japan’s new official name for the islands will go into effect on October 1.