Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency declined to comment Saturday on when a Taiwan-Philippines fisheries agreement will be signed.
According to Tsay Tzu-yaw, deputy director-general of the agency, the matter is being dealt with by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The issue came to attention after US secretary of defense Chuck Hagel said in Singapore earlier in the day that “this week, Taiwan and the Philippines agreed to sign a new fisheries agreement.”
Hagel, who was speaking at the 2014 Shangri-La Dialogue held by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, cited the proposed agreement as an example of how to reduce tensions and resolve disputes peacefully.
He stressed that while the United States does not take sides on the competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, it is firmly opposed use of intimidation, coercion or the threat of force by any nation to assert those claims.
Taiwan and the Philippines have been discussing an agreement on maritime law enforcement cooperation since last year, after a Taiwanese fisherman was shot dead by the Philippine Coast Guard in an overlapping exclusive economic zone of the two countries.
Antonio Basilio, the Philippines’ representative to Taiwan, said in an interview with CNA in April that the agreement may be signed by end of July, before the fishing season ends.
He also said that after the two sides sign the agreement, they will move on to discussing a permanent mechanism for fishery cooperation.
2014 WantChinaTimes.com