Analysis of claims by other countries

(2) References to “Diaoyu Tai” in A Tour of Duty in the Taiwan Strait

　Huang Shujing goes on to describe the problem of stowaways from Fujian and Guangdong to Taiwan, which contributed to worsening public security in Taiwan（→Material 5）. Since stowaways often boarded smaller ships on the mainland side and then moved to larger ships, Huang Shujing argues that the key to solving the problems of stowaways and worsening security in Taiwan was the strengthening of port controls both on the mainland and Taiwan sides. Subsequently, in the book, the names of Taiwan's nearshore and coastal ports are enumerated according to the capacity of entry in terms of the size of ships, counter-clockwise on the South Route as well as clockwise on the North Route, starting from an area around today’s Tainan and Kaohsiung (see Figure).

　It is in this list of ports that the place name of “Diaoyu Tai” appears.　

　In it, as ports with the capacity for the entry of a large patrol ship with a keel, Luermen (west of Tainan) and Takau Port (Kaohsiung City) on the South Route, and Wengang (Taisi Township, Yunlin County), Bengang (Beigang Township, Yunlin County), Danshui [澹水] (Tamsui [淡水] District, New Taipei City), Xiaojilong (Sanzhi District, New Taipei City), and Bachimen (Keelung City) on the North Route are listed.

　The largest number of ports listed there are those with the capacity for the entry of sampan boats with a shallow bottom and other smaller ships. Of those, for the South Route, ports facing the Taiwan Strait from Fongshan Dagang (Kaohsiung City) to Houwanzai (Checheng Township, Pingtung County) and inland river ports are enumerated in order; for the North Route, coastal ports from Zhuluo Mashagou (Tainan City) via the northernmost Danshui and Jilong to Hezailan (Yilan City in northeastern Taiwan), where a gradually increasing number of Han people came to settle in the 18th century, are enumerated（→Material 6）.

　Subsequently, ports accessible to small-sized ships and ports accessible only to small fishing boats due to the accumulation of mud are explained for the South Route and the North Route respectively （→Material 7）, followed by a passage that includes a description of “Diaoyu Tai”（→Material 8）. 　

　“There is an ocean behind the mountains. To the north lies a mountain called Diaoyu Tai, which can accommodate ten or so large ships; Xuebolan in Chongyao is accessible by sampan boats.”　

(3) Where is “Diaoyu Tai” located?

　The question in determining the location of Diaoyu Tai is how to interpret the descriptions of ports accessible to large ships and sampan boats, which begin with the phrase “an ocean behind the mountains” after the description enumerating ports according to the size of ships that could visit them on both the North Route and the South Route.　

　As noted above, Qing’s rule over Taiwan from the 18th to the mid-19th century was centered in the western half, with its sphere of influence in the eastern half extending clockwise from the west only up to the northeast Hezailan (Yilan City). To the south of the Yilan plains, there is a series of cliffs, named Qingshui Cliffs under the Japanese rule, which block traffic by land, and the only way to reach today’s Hualien City was by sea. In the area of today's Hualien and Taitung Counties, at the time, the indigenous people and the Han immigrants who settled there were not amicable, and the area was completely out of Qing’s sphere of control. Therefore, although there might have been rare ship visits to and from the western part of Taiwan, all the buraucrats knew about there was pure hearsay. 　　

　Taking these into consideration, the geographic names of “Diaoyu Tai” and “Xuepolan in Chongyao” were mentioned based on the limited scope of information about the ports on the east side of Taiwan's Central Mountain Range, in other words, in the area located “Shanhou” or “Houshan” (behind mountain) from the west coast.　

　Of these, “Xuepolan in Chongyao” refers to the mouth of the Xiuguluan River which runs in southern Hualien County. An island called Xibulan, which sounds very similar to “Xuepolan,” is actually located around the estuary, and the estuary is large enough to be accessible to sampan boats.　　

　In light of the context so far, “Diaoyu Tai” should refer to a place with a port that could accommodate about ten large ships, which was not far from “Xuepolan in Chongyao.” Now, such a place in the area around the estuary of the Xiuguluan River along long sandy beaches in the coastal area of southeastern Taiwan, also with a port that can accommodate more or less ten ships of the size of a patrol ship and with the pointy rock formations that matches the description of “a mountain called Diaoyu Tai” can be regarded as Sansiantai in Taitung County, a scenic tourist attraction with rock formations, and Chenggong Port, a fishing port in its immediate vicinity.　　

　It is clearly shown in History of Taiwan Province (Tai Wan Sheng Tong Shi) [台湾省通史], published in 1970 under the government of the Republic of China that “Diaoyu Tai” was located in Taitung County. In its introduction of the pre-modern economic and social situation in the eastern part of Taiwan, History of Taiwan Province mentions “Diaoyu Tai (Taitung),” directly quoting the above-mentioned description in A Tour of Duty in the Taiwan Strait by Huang Shujing. 　

　In conclusion, the “Diaoyu Tai” in A Tour of Duty in the Taiwan Strait is considered as Sansiantai in Taitung County.　　

　It is clear that it does not refer to the Senkaku Islands, located even farther north than Danshui [澹水] and Jilong in the “the northernmost islands in Taiwan.” This is also corroborated by the following descriptions in A Tour of Duty in the Taiwan Strait of geographic features along the coastline of Taiwan: “There are shoals and dangerous reefs along the coast, and it is difficult for patrol ships with a keel to navigate” and “there is a need to wait for the tide to calm down before entering the port.” A Tour of Duty in the Taiwan Strait deals with the ports on and around Taiwan Island from the practical viewpoint of Qing bureaucrats in an effort to rule Taiwan. “Diaoyu Tai” is mentioned in this context in the book.

　One additional thing to note is that A Tour of Duty in the Taiwan Strait describes the location of Diaoyu-Tai as “north” but does not specifically describe the direction of Xuepolan in Chongyao. This does not seemcontradictory at all, as it is assumed in the description to take the South Route, going around Eluanbi, the southern tip of the island, heading north along the east coast to reach Diaoyu Tai first, and continuing northward until Xuepolan in Chongyao.