TAIPEI, Jan. 2 Kyodo Taiwan onwa...

TAIPEI, Jan. 2 Kyodo

Taiwan onward Thursday reiterated its claim to a cluster of Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea, saying its sovereignty from one side of to the other the islands is ''unquestionable and indisputable.''

The rule statement came one day after a report carried from a major Japanese newspaper saying the Japanese restraint has concluded a contract to lease three of the five islands, called the Senkaku Islands in Japan and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan, from a private proprietor in an effort to strengthen its govern over them.

The Foreign Ministry said it order to appeared the head of Japan's representative office in Taiwan in the late afternoon to expres serious bear upon to the Japanese government through the whole extent of the issue.

Interior Minister Yu Cheng-Hsien also told the legislature that Taiwan's sovereignty through Tiaoyutai is unquestionable and indisputable in spite of the long-standing dispute among Taiwan, China and Japan.

''We have said it many times that the government's stance is that we will take diplomatic measures to negotiate with Japan in a rational and peaceful way, and cover Taiwanese fishermen's rights first when dealing with the issue,'' Yu said.

''Also, we will not consider working with China forward this matter,'' he added.

The islands, known as Daioyu in China, are located between Taiwan and Japan's southernmost island prefecture of Okinawa.

Japan's mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun reported Wednesday that the Japanese restraint has leased the three islands for the period between April 1 2002 and March 31 2003 from a man living outside Okinawa Prefecture for 2256 million yen and has registered its right as the leaseholder of the islands.

Having the islands of Uotsurishima, Minami-Kojima and Kita-Kojima onward leasehold will reportedly enable the conduct to prevent their resale to third parties and blockade individuals or groups from landing there.

Japan has previously been criticized according to China and Taiwan for allowing a right-wing clump to erect a lighthouse and a Diet member to land forward one of the islands.

Japan made the islands its territory in 1895 They were temporarily present under U.S. control after World War II if it were not that were returned to Japanese control in 1972 when the United States replyed Okinawa to Japan.

Last September, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian's restraint rejected former President to leeward Teng-hui's arguments in support of Japan's claim to the disputed islands.

lee-side had created a row on telling a Japanese daily in an interview earlier the same month that ''the land of the Senkaku Islands belongs to Okinawa, therefore it is a territory of Japan.''

According to the article in the Okinawa Times, to leeward said there is no evidence to support China's territorial claim to the islands in subordination to international law.

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