Island protection common duty of mainland, Taiwan

The mainland and Taiwan share the responsibility of safeguarding fishermen's rights in the Diaoyu Islands, the mainland's spokeswoman on Taiwan affairs said on Wednesday.

"The waters of Diaoyu Islands is a traditional fishing ground for Chinese fishermen, so it is absolutely justified for fishermen from both sides of the Straits to catch fish in the area," Fan Liqing said at a news conference in Beijing.

The mainland's vessels will continue to patrol the water to enforce laws on the sea, protecting fishery ships and providing services to fishermen from both sides of the Straits, Fan said.

Fan reiterated that the Diaoyu Islands are China territory, and both sides of the Straits should make an effort to protect the sovereignty of the islands against Japan.

"Actions taken by both sides will be firmly supported by all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, " she said.

Fan made the remarks in response to the meeting on Tuesday between Japanese envoy Tadashi Imai and Taiwan "foreign affairs minister" Timothy Yang over the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan "nationalized" earlier this month by buying them from their "owner."

In the news conference, Fan also complimented Chiang Pin-kung, Taiwan's top negotiator on cross-Straits affairs, who will step down from his post as chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation on Sept 27.

"We highly appreciate the chairman's positive efforts to put forward the negotiation system between the mainland and Taiwan and the improvement and development of cross-Straits relations during his tenure," Fan said.