Spokesman for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington Frank Yee Wang recently told The Washington Times that the military exercise is a response to the public furor in Taiwan over the fisherman's killing. He said the drill is not intended as a provocation, “it was just to show to our people that our government will protect their rights in our waters.”

The southern boundary for Taiwan's fishery protection is not a “temporary enforcement line,” a Ministry of the Interior (MOI) official said yesterday, adding that it is the right of the Fisheries Agency (FA) — not the MOI — to decide if it needs to be revised.

The United States is hoping to see the early release of final investigation reports on the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine coast guard patrol, a U.S. State Department official said yesterday.

A detained Taiwanese fishing boat and its captain were released by Japanese authorities yesterday after trespassing into Japanese waters off Ishigaki Island, Taiwan's Fisheries Agency said yesterday.

President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday held a welcoming ceremony for Paraguay President Dr. Federico Franco at Liberty Square, and thanked him for his support of the East China Sea Peace Initiative.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) chief David Lin said yesterday that he was not aware that a team from the Philippines will arrive in Taiwan Tuesday to investigate an attack by a Philippine government vessel on a Taiwanese fishing boat.

The mayor of Philippine city Davao, Rodrigo Duterte, called Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) yesterday afternoon and apologized to the Taiwanese people over the killing of a fisherman.

A senator in the Philippines has pushed for a formal inquiry into the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman by a Philippine government vessel, saying that “the family of the slain Taiwanese fisherman deserves no less.”

Visiting Paraguayan President Luis Federico Franco Gomez received an honorary doctoral degree from Taipei Medical University yesterday, in recognition of his efforts to improve public health in his South American country.

hough an initial investigative team was rejected by the Philippines, the window for negotiations between the two countries is still open, and the two governments will start joint investigation talks today, according to Foreign Minister David Lin (林永樂).