The Presidential Office has released a statement with regards to the incident involving the bumping of the Taiwan sporting fishing vessel "Lianhe" by a Japanese coast guard vessel. The Presidential Office said that the incident has been peacefully resolved. The statement is as follows:
The incident in which Taiwan's "Lianhe" sporting fishing vessel was bumped by a Japanese coast guard vessel has attracted considerable concern and discussion among people on Taiwan. In light of the efforts of related government agencies as well as the support extended by the public, the incident has been resolved peacefully. We are pleased with this development.
At 4:00 p.m. on June 20, Interchange Association Deputy Representative Hitoshi Funamachi presented a letter of apology written by Hideo Nasu, head of the 11th Operational Region of the Japan Coast Guard, to the captain of the "Lianhe" Ho Hung-yi. In addition, the letter noted Mr. Nasu's willingness to begin negotiations as soon as possible on compensation. We confirm the stance taken by the Japanese side and feel it has shown goodwill, and we also appreciate the efforts made by the Interchange Association of Japan. We hope this will provide a modicum of comfort to Captain Ho and will also be a satisfactory response with regards to the concern expressed by the people of the ROC (Taiwan) in this matter.
The Diaoyutai islands are territory of the Republic of China and the government has never and will never change its position on safeguarding its sovereignty over the Diaoyutais. The government places great importance on the fishing rights of Taiwan fishermen and safety of Taiwan fishing boats. We will ask related government agencies to commence negotiations with Japan on fishing rights issues in order to ensure the interests and livelihood of Taiwan fishermen.
The ROC and Japan have consistently maintained extremely close and friendly ties. We hope this incident will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen interaction between Taiwan and Japan, helping to boost the friendship between the people of the two countries as well as peace in the region.