talks

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is urging the Philippines and Japan not to
infringe on Taiwan's rights in its surrounding waters.

The call comes after Manila and Tokyo announced last week they were starting
talks on maritime delimitation in their overlapping exclusive economic zones.

Those zone also partly overlap with Taiwan's E-E-Z.

According to foreign ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei, the Lai
administration will protect the rights and interests of Taiwan's fishermen
and continue to consult with the Philippines and Japan on maritime issues
based existing agreements.

Hsiao says no details concerning the proposed E-E-Z boundaries have been
released so far and the the foreign ministry had instructed its
representative offices in Tokyo and Manila to gather more information on the
issue.

The spokesman also says the government is asking both countries to engage in
dialogue with Taipei regarding the maritime boundary issue to ensure Taiwan's
rights are fully protected.

The statements come after the foreign ministry this past weekend lauded the
Tokyo-Manila talks, which it described as way to "resolve maritime
differences through peaceful dialogue and based on respect for international
law."