Taiwan, Japan to discuss fisheries issues at annual meeting in Tokyo

Taipei, Jan. 10 (CNA) Taiwan and Japan will hold an annual meeting in Tokyo next week to review guidelines for the two countries' fishermen in waters that cover the disputed Diaoyutai Islands northeast of Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Friday.

The 11th Taiwan-Japan Fishery Committee meeting will take place in the Japanese capital on Jan. 14-16 under the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement signed on April 10, 2013, the ministry said in a statement.

Under the agreement, Taiwanese fishermen can work freely in the designated area without being stopped by Japanese law enforcement vessels, except in territorial waters around the Japan-control Diaoyutai Islands, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan.

The designated area of 74,000 square kilometers is south of the 27th parallel north, north of Japan's Yaeyama Islands, and between northern Taiwan and the Okinawa Islands of Japan, according to MOFA.

It lies within the overlapping exclusive economic zones of Taiwan and Japan and was the site of frequent fishery disputes between the two countries prior to the signing of the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement.

Earlier meetings established an emergency contact channel, safety rules and other guidelines for fishing boats operating in the area.

Taiwan and Japan have also agreed to promote the installation of automatic identification systems on fishing boats to make them easier for the law enforcement authorities of both sides to identify.

However, there remain unsolved issues Taiwan has sought to address at the annual meetings for several years, such as other overlapping exclusive economic zones not covered by the 2013 agreement.

These overlapping areas include waters north of the 27th parallel north and south of the Yaeyama Islands, the Fisheries Agency previously said.