Taipei, Dec. 20 (CNA) Officials and scholars from Taiwan and Japan focused on the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands at an annual bilateral forum on Monday and could agree on only one thing: more discussion is needed on the issue.
In his opening remarks at the one-day 2010 Taiwan-Japan Forum, Vice President Vincent Siew said Taiwan and Japan shared common interests in the maritime sovereignty dispute and in many other areas and urged both sides to cooperate to create a win-win situation.
Speakers from Taiwan expressed considerable interest in the controversial issue, which resurfaced after a Chinese boat collided with Japanese Coast Guard vessels in September in waters off the Tiaoyutais, stirring up a diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing.
The islands, which lie about 100 nautical miles off Taiwan's northeastern tip, are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan and could have an impact on Japan-China relations and Japan-Taiwan relations at the same time, said Bau Tzong-ho, a political scientist at National Taiwan University.
Because China claims sovereignty over the islands through Taiwan -- which it says it a part of China -- Japan's national interests would be well served if it set aside the sovereignty dispute and negotiated an agreement on fishing in the islands' waters, Bau contended.
"That would deny China an excuse to intervene in the issue, " he argued.
The Tiaoyutais dispute could be the most important issue dividing Japan and Taiwan, said Nobuo Kishi, a member of the House of Councilors in the Diet (Japanese Congress) , but he agreed that handling it as a fisheries dispute could lead to negotiations with Taiwan in the future.
In contrast, it appeared that the Tiaoyutais had become a more intractable territorial dispute between Japan and China, said Kishi, a member of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party.
House of Councilors member Naoki Kazama of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan said that while Taiwan and China both claim sovereignty over the Tiaoyutais, Japan found that it was easier to talk to Taiwan about the issue.
Yang Yung-ming, a political scientist at National Taiwan University who has served as a National Security Council adviser, proposed an "East China Sea Initiative" that called for all countries involved to pledge to handle the issue through peaceful dialogue.
Yang said China's recent tendency to solve disputes using economic measures -- such as banning rare earth exports to Japan -- posed concerns that it could resort to the same approach in dealing with Taiwan in the future, despite warming cross-Taiwan Strait ties.
Joe Hung, Taiwan's former representative to Italy, suggested that the dispute be solved through Four Party Talks that include the three Tiaoyutai claimants -- Taiwan, China and Japan -- as well as the United States as a mediator. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls