Deputy Agriculture Minister James Sha says that Taiwan must protect the rights of Taiwanese fishermen while resolving disputes with Japan.
Sha was speaking Thursday after a Japanese newspaper announced that Japanese fishermen have petitioned Tokyo to limit Taiwanese fishing boats’ access to waters near the disputed Diaoyutai Islands. Taiwan claims the islands, but Japan exercises de facto control over the group.
Sha said that fishermen on both sides have increased pressure on their governments as a bilateral meeting on fisheries scheduled for March approaches.
He said that the Diaoyutai Islands are unquestionably Taiwanese territory. However, he also said that Taiwan and Japan should set aside their differences and work to find common ground in the spirit of a bilateral fisheries agreement signed in 2013.