There’s a certain irony to the fishing pact that Japan signed with Taiwan last month on the joint management of fishing operations in waters near the disputed Senkaku Islands.
It could undermine Japanese administration of the islands in the East China Sea.
The bilateral pact went into effect May 10, before a full set of rules had been drawn governing operations by both sides.
Japanese officials had gloated that concessions granted to Taiwan would drive a wedge between China and Taiwan and stop them taking a unified stand on the territorial dispute.
But what became clear on the first day of hassle-free fishing in the zone is that no Japanese vessels were operating there, according to Japan’s Fisheries Agency.
The bilateral pact allows Taiwanese fishing boats to operate in the designated area around the Senkaku Islands in Japan’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone.
The uninhabited islands are controlled by Japan, but claimed by both China and Taiwan.
Taiwanese trawlers are allowed to fish in the area, but are prohibited from entering Japanese territorial waters within 12 nautical miles of the islands.
An Asahi Shimbun aircraft spent 90 minutes flying over the area early on May 10 and spotted more than 10 fishing boats, all Taiwanese.
Ordinarily, large numbers of Japanese fishing boats operate there at this time of year because the waters are teeming with bluefin tuna. The boats come from Okinawa Prefecture and as far away as Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Kochi prefectures.
Seven boats that departed Naha Port in Okinawa Prefecture on May 10 avoided the area and headed instead to waters near Miyakojima island, which lies to the south of the designated area.
“We want to avoid trouble with Taiwanese fishing boats,” said a fisherman.
The Taiwanese vessels are typically in the 20- to 50-ton range with six-member crews, whereas a Japanese boat is often operated by just one or two fishermen.
“Fishing boats from Okinawa will never come closer if they see Taiwanese ships,” said Huang Sen-yi, director of a fishermen’s cooperative in Yilan county, northeast of Taiwan.
On May 9, Yang De-xin, captain of a longliner, called on about 100 Taiwanese boats not to operate outside the designated area after the pact went into force.
Yang wanted to avert problems with Japanese vessels as the deal over fishing rights around the Senkaku Islands, a rich fishing ground, was clinched after years of negotiations.
But nearby waters called “special cooperation zone” where Taiwanese boats can operate, and which Japanese authorities can patrol, problems were reported.
Shinji Tawara, 53, captain of a trawler based in Kawaminami, Miyazaki Prefecture, complained that his nets were cut at two places and that two of his floats were gone. He had been operating near the special cooperation zone until the morning of May 10.
He said radar on his trawler showed 10 boats that appeared to be Taiwanese right before he noticed the damage.
“This is what happens when the rules of operation have yet to be finalized,” said Tawara, clearly angry.
Waters around Japan’s southernmost prefecture are subject to many restrictions.
To the east of Okinawa’s main island are three areas where the U.S. military conducts drills. When the exercises are under way, fishing is prohibited there.
Chinese fishing boats can operate without any restrictions in areas to the west of the line stretching from Okinawa’s main island to southwest, based on a 1997 agreement between Japan and China over fishing rights.
In waters to the north and south of the Yaeyama Islands near the designated area, a flurry of problems has been reported involving Japanese and Taiwanese fishing boats.
In 2003, Taiwan unilaterally announced it had set the boundary and claimed exclusive fishing rights.
The recent Japan-Taiwan fisheries pact caused outrage in Okinawa as it was announced without consulting with local fisheries officials beforehand.
In an effort to ease local anger, Taku Eto, senior vice minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, stressed the importance of concluding the pact when he visited Okinawa for talks with the prefectural government on May 5.
“The pact is the first step to restore order in waters where there are no rules,” he said.
But Japan and Taiwan have many differences to iron out before they establish detailed rules over fishing.
Taiwan demanded that a buffer zone be established around the designated area at a first meeting to set rules on May 7. Japanese officials urged the Taiwanese side to refrain from operating there until rules are in place.
Taiwanese officials refused to acquiesce.
The date for the next meeting has yet to be decided, although the Taiwanese side would prefer it is held around July, when the peak tuna fishing season is over.
The fisheries agreement came at a time when fishermen in Okinawa were finding it increasingly difficult to operate around the Senkakus due to the standoff with China over sovereignty of the islands.
Japan Coast Guard boats are patrolling Japanese territorial waters around the islets to deter Chinese government vessels from entering, and chase them away.
Tensions in the area heightened after the Japanese government purchased the islands from private ownership and made them state property last September.
Fishermen in the Yaeyama fishermen’s cooperative complained that the central government’s decision to put the islands under its direct control hurt their operations.
Many fishermen said they could not go to fish as often as they used to because so many vessels are there.
Kazuyoshi Honkawa, director-general of the Fisheries Agency, acknowledged the downside.
“If fishermen stay away from waters (around the Senkakus) because fishing there causes them too much trouble, it will end up undermining Japan’s control of the islands,” he said.
Kameichi Uehara, head of the Yaeyama fishermen’s cooperative, acknowledged the dilemma.
“If Okinawa’s fishermen choose not to operate in the designated area to avoid trouble, the area will be occupied by Taiwanese fishing boats,” he said. “But I cannot ask local fishermen to go out and fish when no rules on operations are yet in place.”
An official with the Okinawa prefectural government who is familiar with the May 7 meeting with Taiwanese officials said Japan is entering somewhat uncharted waters in trying to set rules.
According to the official, Taiwan is pushing for rights to fish in Japanese territorial waters around the Senkakus.
“It was like they were demanding it as if it was something only to be expected,” the official said. “The issue is bound to crop up again.”
The Asahi Shimbun Company