onal, cool-headed handling of the Tiaoyutai crisis but demanded negotiations on fishing rights as well as sovereignty over the disputed islets in the East China Sea. At a tea reception for the press, President Ma said he supports Fukuda's approach to solve the incident over the disputed waters off the Tiaoyutais, which the Japanese call the Senkakus.
"Both countries," Ma told reporters, "should resort to peaceful and diplomatic means in tackling the issue."
A Taiwan sports fishing boat, the Lien Ho, was rammed into by a Japanese maritime safety frigate on last Tuesday. It sank. A three-man crew and 13 anglers aboard were rescued, but the skipper and the two crew members were questioned at Ishigaki jima as defendants.
In dealing with the crisis that ensued, Ma said, both sides "have shown self-restraint and goodwill." A Japanese maritime safety official expressed regret for the incident he added.
But that is not enough, Ma said. The Japanese press interpreted "regret" as "apology." "They are not the same," the president added.
"On our side, we are trying to treat the issue rationally and cool-headedly," President Ma went on. He referred to his four-point declaration.
The president reaffirmed sovereignty over the Tiaoyutais on Thursday and demanded that the skipper be released and an apology be made. He reiterated Taiwan's strong determination to safeguard the sovereignty of the islets and ordered the National Coast Guard Administration to strengthen its organization and equipment to safeguard the sovereignty and fishing rights. Reparation for the Lien Ho was demanded.
"We are certain," the president said with confidence, "the dispute would be solved peacefully."
What caused the incident was disagreement between Taiwan and Japan on fishing rights and sovereignty over the islets, under whose water lie vast gas and oil reserves waiting to be tapped.
Japan has never agreed to talk about the disputed sovereignty, while negotiations on fishing rights have failed to reach agreement, President Ma continued.
"There must be a change," he said.
Should no change be made, President Ma said, the Lien Ho incident would be endlessly repeated. "Good relations between the two countries would be seriously affected," he pointed out.
Ma urged Japan to resume talks on fishing rights. "This is the task we have to tackle first," he said, "but negotiations are also necessary to solve the dispute over sovereignty."
Taiwan has agreed to forbid its ships to enter waters 12 miles off the Tiaoyutais. Those are now claimed by Japan as its territorial waters.
"We won't provoke any country," Ma said. China, along with Taiwan and Japan, claims sovereignty over the Tiaoyutais.
"But the Tiaoyutais are our territory and our ships have every right of free access," he declared.
"I hope," Ma said, "Japan, in view of its friendly relations with us in the past, will start dialogue on sovereignty over the islets cool-headedly in a peaceful atmosphere."
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