Five Taiwanese fishing trawlers approached by Japan near Okinotori
Taiwan News
Date: 2017/01/12
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Coast Guard said Thursday it was sending a patrol vessel to the Okinotori
(By Central News Agency)
area after reports that five Taiwanese fishing trawlers had been approached by Japanese coast guard ships the previous day.
Last year, during the final days of the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou, a dispute broke out over Okinotori, which the Japanese claim as an island so they can impose an Economic Exclusion Zone of 200 nautical miles around it, while Taiwan says it is merely a reef “the size of two beds.”
The Hsun Hu No.7 left Taiwan’s main island on Thursday afternoon for a 15-day mission centered on the protection of Taiwanese fishing vessels centered on the Okinotori area, the Coast Guard announced.
The government department said it would remain in close contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Council of Agriculture’s Fisheries Agency in order to adapt its work to the conditions in the area. [FULL STORY]
