Taiwan’s MOFA refutes Washington’s support of Japan’s sovereignty over Diaoyutai Islands

Taiwan News
Date: 2017/02/06
By: Judy Lin, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Taipei (Taiwan News)—Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) reiterated sovereignty claims over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands, after U.S. defense secretary James Mattis recently remarked the islands fall under the guidance of a U.S.-Japan security treaty in Tokyo.

The debate over the rightful ownership over the archipelago, which is also known as Senkaku Islands in Japanese, has long been a contentious issue among China, Taiwan and Japan.

During a recent visit to Asia, Mattis, the highest ranking official to visit Japan since Donald Trump’s inauguration, commented the United States would defend Japan under the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation which he said was applicable to the disputed Senkaku Islands.    [FULL  STORY]