DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen says that the disputed Diaoyutai Islands are Taiwanese territory.
Tsai’s remark on Wednesday comes after former president Lee Teng-hui publicly backed Japan’s competing claim to the islands. The islands are under de facto Japanese control, and are commonly known by their Japanese name, the Senkaku Islands.
Tsai said the DPP’s position is that Diaoyutai Islands are part of Taiwan’s territory. She also said that the DPP maintains Taiwan’s claims to disputed areas of the South China Sea.
Tsai criticized the ruling KMT for claiming that her party has abandoned Taiwan’s South China Sea claims, something she called a distortion of her party’s position.