US embassy cable - 05TAIPEI3160

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 003160 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS AIT/WASHINGTON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ASEC, TW 
SUBJECT: TAIWAN-JAPAN FISHING DISPUTE NOT HINDERING 
SECURITY TIES 
 
REF: TAIPEI 2530 
 
Classified By: AIT Director Douglas Paal, Reason 1.4 (b/d) 
 
 1. (C) Summary: Taiwan and Japanese officials insist that 
their fishing dispute will not affect Tokyo-Taipei security 
ties or their bilateral relationship.  Both sides are 
preparing for another round of talks in Tokyo on July 29, but 
neither is optimistic there will be a breakthrough because 
significant gaps remain despite several years of 
negotiations.  Taiwan officials and Japanese diplomats note 
that domestic pressure and lawmakers on both sides eager to 
politicize the issue are also complicating negotiations. 
However, both sides assure AIT that they will not allow the 
dispute to hamper Taipei-Tokyo ties and have agreed to put 
aside sovereignty issues and focus on expanding the joint 
fisheries area under dispute (Reftel).  Taipei is quickly 
seeking to diffuse the domestic row over the dispute by 
urging Legislative Yuan (LY) members to temper their 
political maneuvering and dispatching senior officials to 
meet with the fishermen to ensure they do not escalate 
tensions ahead of the talks on Friday.  End summary. 
 
Little Optimism for July 29 Talks 
--------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) Taiwan and Japanese officials believe there is little 
reason for optimism when the two sides meet in Tokyo on July 
29 for another round of talks.  Japan Interchange Association 
(JIA) Director of Economic Affairs Masahiko Sugita suggested 
there is little hope for a breakthrough since both sides are 
still very far apart after 14 meetings since 1996.  Taiwan 
National Security Council (NSC) Senior Advisor for Asia 
Affairs, Lin Cheng-wei, told AIT that Taipei did work out 
some concessions for the July 29 talks in the nine-point 
package presented to Japan on July 12, most notably the 
proposal to put aside sovereignty claims and focus on the 
issue of fishing rights.  Lin said that NSC Senior Advisor 
Lin Jin-chang, a native of Ilan with family ties to the 
fishing industry, directly negotiated this concession with 
the Ilan/Suao fishermen.  However, Lin is pessimistic that a 
compromise can be achieved in Tokyo because he expects Japan 
to reject Taiwan's latest proposal, which encourages Japan to 
accept a larger fishing zone for Taiwan.  He told AIT he is 
already working on a new compromise, including a proposal to 
jointly monitor the disputed waters between Taiwan and Japan, 
which will be introduced during future talks if negotiations 
in Tokyo fail. 
 
Domestic Pressure Complicating Talks 
------------------------------------ 
 
3. (C) Officials in both Taiwan and Japan are grappling with 
domestic and political pressure which is complicating ongoing 
talks to resolve the dispute.  JIA's Sugita said that Tokyo 
is dealing with objections from Okinawa-based Diet members 
and explained that the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, 
Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) has bowed to their pressure, 
complicating efforts to find a common formula to solve the 
dispute.  Sugita added that during Japanese Diet member 
Hirosato Nakatsugawa's July 19-21 visit to Taiwan, 
Nakatsugawa personally met with President Chen Shui-bian to 
discuss the dispute and complained that the Taiwan fishing 
boats continue to enter Japanese-claimed waters and urged 
Taipei to make more concessions. 
 
4. (C) On the Taiwan side, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) 
James Liao from the Taiwan-Japan Relations Task Force 
lamented that Taiwan lawmaker efforts to politicize the issue 
are also pressuring Taipei.  He said the most troublesome 
group has been the Pan-Blue LY members, who demand that the 
government cooperate with the PRC to counter Japan. 
Vice-Foreign Minister Michael Kau added that tensions remain 
high and that the Pan-Blue politicians and their antics in 
June (Reftel) have whipped up anti-Japanese sentiment among 
the fishing community and the broader Taiwan populace.  JIA's 
Sugita also noted that he fears political posturing by Taiwan 
politicians in preparation for Taiwan's year-end local 
elections might further hamper future negotiations. 
 
Both Sides Seek to Diffuse Dispute 
---------------------------------- 
5. (C) Both sides are working to ensure the fishing dispute 
does not influence the larger Taiwan-Japan relationship. 
NSC's Asia Affairs Lin told AIT that Tokyo has been very 
responsive to Taiwan's concerns and that Japanese officials 
assured him that Tokyo does not want the fishing dispute to 
hinder security or political cooperation.  JIA's Sugita 
explained that Japan views very positively Taipei's efforts 
to downplay the fishing dispute at home and willingness to 
put aside sovereignty issues and focus on the negotiations. 
Tokyo, he added, is also working hard to ensure the fishing 
dispute does not affect Taipei-Tokyo bilateral ties. 
 
6. (C) Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General James 
Huang told AIT that he has little hope for significant 
progress in the coming round of talks.  He emphasized that 
Taiwan wants to minimize disagreements with Japan, but it is 
not willing to make concessions on sovereignty issues or on 
the determination of which topographical features are 
"islands" that would justify Japan's delineation of an 
economic zone.  He re-emphasized that Taiwan's objective is 
to avoid conflict or concession with Japan while eliminating 
any opportunity for the Pan-Blue opposition to foment unrest 
among Taiwan fishermen. 
 
7. (C) Vice-Foreign Minister Kau said that while tensions 
among both sides are high in the disputed fishing area as 
incursions and expulsions continue, progress is being made. 
Taiwan will have its Ministry of Interior play a leading role 
in the talks to handle the boundary issues.  It will work 
hard, however, to keep Taiwan fishermen from directly 
participating in the talks.  Taiwan was unhappy with the 
precedent Japan set of including Japanese fishing 
representatives in an earlier round.  Taipei fears including 
fishing representatives will make it harder to reduce 
tensions. 
 
8. (C) Kau said Defense Minister Lee Jye will personally go 
to the Ilan-Suao area to ensure the fisherman do not do 
anything to sabotage the talks.  While MOFA's Liao noted that 
MOFA is taking the unusual step of visiting LY members to 
encourage them to temper their political rhetoric and to 
explain to them the delicate nature of the talks.  Liao 
assessed that MOFA's efforts are having a positive effect on 
the LY members, but lamented how difficult it has been 
because the lawmakers want press coverage and seek to use the 
dispute for their own political gain. 
 
Comment: Domestic Politics Main Driver 
-------------------------------------- 
 
9. (C) By sidestepping the sovereignty issue, both sides may 
be moving towards an agreement that reduces the risk of 
clashes between Taiwan fishing boats and Japanese patrol 
boats.  Despite this agreement, it appears that neither side 
is willing to make the compromises necessary to close a deal 
anytime soon.  They fear too much of a concession will 
provoke outrage by fishing groups and politicians on both 
sides.  Taiwan's DPP government feels it can ill afford to 
give the highly organized fisherman and their Pan-Blue 
backers an opportunity to protest, which explains the 
government's campaign to soothe Pan-Blue LY members and the 
fishermen before the June 29 talks.  Both Japan and Taiwan 
may have concluded that getting through this round without 
sharp domestic reaction is the best they can hope for before 
regrouping and holding another round of talks. 
PAAL