Taiwan President restates ownership claim for Senkaku Islands

~~IPEI – Taiwan’s President, Ma Ying-jeou has declared that the Diaoyutai (Senkaku) Islands are an integral part of Taiwan, and any claim to the contrary flies in the face of the Constitution, history and national sovereignty.

“It is an indisputable fact that, from the perspective of geography, geology, history and international law, the Diaoyutais are an appendage island group of Taiwan,” Ma said.
His remarks follow those of former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, who said  during a July 23 visit to Tokyo that the Diaoyutais belong to Japan.
“Protecting the nation’s sovereignty over the Diaoyutais and fishing rights in the East China Sea is the duty and obligation of a serving or former ROC president,” Ma said. “Lee must correct his misstatement and apologize to the people of Taiwan.”
The Diaoyutais are an uninhabited archipelago located 102 nautical miles northeast of Taiwan proper. 
According to Ma, the first record of the islands was in a book published in 1403 during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). “They were also mentioned in many Qing dynasty [1644-1911] official documents, proving imperial China was the first to discover, name and use them,” he said.
“In addition, secret Japanese Government documents in the decade prior to its seizure of the Diaoyutais at the end of the First Sino-Japanese War [1894-1895] show an awareness of Qing China’s claim.”
After the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), the Diaoyutais were returned to the nation along with Taiwan, Ma said, adding that this was in line with the Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation, Instrument of Surrender of Japan, San Francisco Treaty and Treaty of Peace between the ROC and Japan.
The President said ROC sovereignty is further supported by geological facts.
“Situated on the continental shelf in the East China Sea, the islands are geologically a part of the same island chain as Huaping, Mianhua and Pengjia islets,” he said. “The Diaoyutais were all formed as the undersea extensions of coastal mountains in northern Taiwan, such as Datun and Guanyin.”
Another factor, the President said, is the depth of water surrounding the Diaoyutais is less than 200m, while east of Chiwei Islet lies the 2,717m-deep Okinawa Trough separating the Diaoyutais from Japan’s Ryukyu Islands.
“All evidence shows that the ROC holds inalienable sovereignty over the Diaoyutais. Any claims contradicting this fact hurt the people’s feelings and compromise Taiwan’s status as an entity,” Ma said.  www.taiwantoday.tw (ATI).