Deputy Foreign Minister Javier Hou says that Taiwan will protect the rights of its fishermen with caution. His comments came Monday at the legislature, one day after Taiwan sent patrol boats to the disputed waters where Japanese authorities seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel a week ago.
“We will exercise caution in protecting our fishing rights, and work to avoid conflicts. Everyone will deal with the situation calmly and we will urge both sides to use peaceful means to deal with this situation," said Hou.
At the heart of the dispute are the waters around the Okinotori reefs. Japan seized a Taiwanese fishing boat – the “Tung Sheng Chi 16” – in that area last Monday. Japanese authorities say the boat was operating in Japanese economic waters and asked for a security deposit for the crew’s return. But Taiwan says that the Okinotori reefs are not islands, and that Japan therefore is not entitled to a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding them.
Reports say that Japan is on full alert, with Taiwanese patrol boats set to arrive in the disputed waters later this week. Officials say that if the boats encounter Japanese patrol vessels acting in an unfriendly manner, by creating waves or by using water jets, then Taiwan’s coast guard will respond in kind.
Deputy Minister Hou said that he was unable to speak about the expected response from Japan. But he said that Taiwan’s government hopes to use peaceful methods to solve the dispute.
Meanwhile, there have been reports that Chinese authorities are forming increasingly sophisticated militias of fishermen and sending armed boats to disputed areas of the South China Sea to protect Chinese interests.
Hou said everyone can see China’s attitude toward the situation and that it is gradually increasing deployments in the region. But he said Taiwan’s government cannot speak on behalf of China. He said Taiwan’s position is to protect its own sovereignty and fishing rights.