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Taiwan, Japan to hold 1st fishing commission meeting May 7

ROC Central News Agency

2013/05/02 21:15:37

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) The first meeting of a fishing commission set up by Taiwan and Japan will be held next week in Taipei to address issues related to fishing in disputed waters in the East China Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

The decision to hold the first meeting of the fishing commission on May 7 was made during a two-day preparatory meeting that ended earlier in the day in Tokyo, the ministry said in a statement.

The preparatory meeting, which discussed issues related to the operations of the fishing commission, went "smoothly," according to the ministry, it but declined to give any details of the plans for next week's meeting.

Taiwan's delegation to the preparatory meeting was led by Chou Shyue-yow, an official from Taiwan's representative office in Tokyo; and also included officials from the Foreign Ministry, Fisheries Agency and Coast Guard Administration.

Japan's delegation was led by Michihiko Komatsu, head of the Interchange Association's general affairs section; and included officials from Japan's fishery, foreign affairs and sea patrol agencies, according to the association.

The association, which represents Japanese interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties, said representatives from a fishing committee in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture also attended the meeting as observers.

After on-and-off negotiations for nearly 17 years, Taiwan and Japan on April 10 signed a historic agreement on fishing rights in their overlapping territories in the East China Sea, mainly around the Diaoyutai Islands, known in Japan as the Senkakus.

Fishermen in Okinawa have complained about the agreement, saying it could affect their fishing rights in waters near the disputed island group.

Under the terms of the agreement, Taiwanese and Japanese boats can operate freely in a 74,300-square-kilometer area around the Diaoyutais, Taiwan's Fisheries Agency said.

This gives Taiwanese fishermen an additional 4,530 square kilometers in which they can operate free of harassment by Japanese authorities, the agency said.

The establishment of a bilateral fishing commission was part of the fishing agreement. The commission will deal with other issues related to fishing in the disputed waters in the Diaoyutais, the ministry said.

The commission consists of four members -- two from Taiwan and two from Japan, in accordance with the agreement.

The Diaoyutais, some 100 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan, have been under Japan's administrative control since 1972 but are also claimed by Taiwan and China.

The surrounding waters have long been traditional fishing grounds for Taiwanese fishermen, but they had been routinely chased away from the area by the Japanese authorities when they ventured too close to what Japan sees as its territorial waters.

(By Elaine Hou)