Executive Yuan Spokesperson Hsu Kuo-yung today reiterated that the legal status of the waters surrounding Okinotori atoll is still in dispute, and that the Taiwan government calls for peaceful resolution of that dispute through Taiwan-Japan negotiations in accordance with international law.
While Taiwan maintains that the waters surrounding Okinotori are high seas, Japan claims the atoll is a base point for a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, Spokesperson Hsu said. But before there is a final determination of the legal status of the waters surrounding Okinotori, Japan should respect Taiwan fishing boats' freedom of navigation and fishing in that area, as permitted by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The spokesperson also noted that the government believes negotiations are the best way to resolve this dispute, and a good example is the Taiwan-Japan fisheries agreement, which successfully resolved long-standing fisheries disputes around the Diaoyutai Islands.
In response to recent Japanese law enforcement patrols near Okinotori, the government broadcast a warning through the Fishery Radio Station to protect the safety and rights of Taiwanese fishermen. Due to the distance separating Taiwan and Okinotori, it has been customary to broadcast such emergency warnings so that domestic fishing vessels can avoid the disputed area before Taiwan coast guard vessels arrive, a long-standing practice that continued under the former Ma administration. In April of last year, the Legislative Yuan demanded that the administration dispatch coast guard vessels, which they did, for the first time, on May 1 last year. Since the Tsai administration took office last May 20, the Coast Guard Administration has dispatched vessels to the waters near Okinotori from June through November to protect Taiwanese fishermen.