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President-elect Tsai visits MOFA

President-elect Tsai visits MOFA

President-elect Tsai visits MOFA

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – President-elect Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President-elect Chen Chien-jen visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Friday to hear a secret report.
Foreign Minister David Lin and his deputies Bruce Linghu and Javier Hou welcomed the delegation in what is a normal feature of the transition period up to the May 20 inauguration. Tsai and Chen earlier also visited the Ministry of National Defense for a similar briefing.
Tsai was accompanied at MOFA Friday by several key members of her new foreign policy team, including the next secretary-general of the National Security Council, Joseph Wu, Foreign Minister-designate David Lee, his deputy Wu Chih-chung and the next presidential secretary-general, Lin Pi-chao.
It was not immediately clear which topics the ministry briefing for Tsai would concentrate on, but reporters waiting at the entrance of the MOFA building shouted questions at her about the crisis in the relationship with Japan.
As she was leaving about 90 minutes later, she said her government would protect the interests of Taiwanese fishermen. Lin confirmed the subject of the dispute had come up during their meeting.
Earlier in the day Japan’s top representative in Taiwan, Mikio Numata, also visited MOFA, but because he had been summoned there by Foreign Minister Lin.
The dispute focuses on Okinotori, a piece of land measuring 9 square meters which Tokyo considers as an island and Taipei as an atoll. Japan’s interpretation allows it to maintain a 200-nautical-mile economic exclusion zone around the area, a claim which it used when taking over a Japanese fishing trawler last week. The vessel with its Taiwanese captain and crew was only released after a deposit was paid.
Taiwan has strongly condemned Japan’s actions and is planning to send at least two government ships to the area to protect Taiwanese fishermen operating there.