Deputy foreign minister Shih Ting has said that Taiwan’s claims to sovereignty over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands remain unchanged. Speaking at the legislature on Thursday, Shih said that US support for Japanese administration of the islands has no effect on Taiwan’s assertion of sovereignty over the islands.
Shih’s remarks came after a statement by US President Barack Obama that the Diaoyutai Islands are under Japanese administration and thus fall under the scope of the Japan-US security pact. The Diaoyutai Islands, called the Senkaku Islands in Japan, are governed by Japan but claimed by Taiwan and Mainland China.
Shih said that while the US acknowledges Japan’s administration of the islands, it has not taken a position on the islands' sovereignty.
"The US gave us a reply on May 26, 1971 that says the fact that the US handed over administration of the islands to Japan does not harm the Republic of China [on Taiwan's] assertions of sovereignty [over the islands] in the least, and it does not diminish the Republic of China's rights," said Shih.
"On November 2, 1971, the US Senate told us that under the Treaty of San Francisco with Japan, Japan was given administration but not sovereignty [over the islands]. A transfer of administration is not enough to effect a transfer of sovereignty. This will not influence our assertion of sovereignty. I think the US attitude is as it has been for many years – that it will not take a position on the sovereignty of the islands," he said.