Taiwan’s sovereignty claims over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) were reasserted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday after Chinese and Russian vessels sailed near the disputed islands. The islands are under the administration of Japan, which refers to them as the Senkaku Islands. They sit in the East China Sea about an equal distance from the northeastern coast of Taiwan proper and Ishigaki Island in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture. Sovereignty over the islands has always been a contentious issue for Taiwan, China and Japan — all of whom make claims to the land — particularly in recent years as China has been