The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan said Oct. 15 that it will hold its annual international seminar on the Diaoyutai Archipelago later this month to discuss disputes over the island group.
“This year’s event will bring attendees up to speed on the latest Diaoyutais developments and examine how they might impact peace and stability in the East China Sea,” a MOFA official said.
“We also plan to set out the ROC government’s response to these challenges, with particular focus on the East China Sea peace initiative and its implementation guidelines.”
Hosted by the MOFA and National Chung Hsing University, the seminar features a lineup of high-ranking government officials and academics from home and abroad.
Local participants include Tung Kuo-yu, deputy minister of the MOFA, Philip Y. M. Yang, deputy secretary-general of the ROC National Security Council, Bau Tzong-ho, director of the National Taiwan University Center for Public Policy and Law, Lin Wen-cheng, head of the National Sun Yat-sen University College of Social Sciences, Tsai Tung-chieh, chairman of the NCHU Graduate Institute of International Politics, and Teng Chung-chian, dean of National Chengchi University’s College of International Affairs.
Overseas attendees include John Copper, professor at the Rhodes College Department of International Studies, Clayton Dube, executive director of the University of Southern California U.S.-China Institute, Stanley Rosen, professor of political science at USC, Yoshikazu Kato, research fellow at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, Satoshi Amako, professor at the Waseda University Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, and Han Sukhee, assistant professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies.
In addition, the MOFA and NCHU will run an exhibition Oct. 18-23 featuring historic documents on ROC sovereignty over the Diaoyutais.
“The exhibition is part of a series of MOFA events aimed at raising public awareness on the archipelago,” the official said, adding that the ministry has received more than 300 submissions for its Diaoyutais writing competition, with the winners announced Nov. 12 on the MOFA website.
The Diaoyutais are an uninhabited archipelago located roughly 170 kilometers northeast of Taiwan proper. The island group is historically attached to the ROC and includes Diaoyutai Island and the islets of Huangwei and Chiwei.
Rachel Chan