Taiwan, Japan reach deal after ocean incident

TAIPEI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Taiwan and Japan, Pacific Ocean neighbours whose relations dipped last year after a boat incident near a chain of disputed islets, have reached a deal to head off further upsets, an official in Taipei said on Saturday.

The two sides agreed during talks in Taiwan on Thursday and Friday to share any urgent information about fishing boat activity and to let a pair of non-governmental agencies hash out any disputes, Taiwan's foreign ministry said.

In June a Taiwan fishing boat collided with a Japanese coastguard vessel and sank off the islets, controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. Japan held the Taiwan captain for investigation.

After the incident, Taiwan's normally pro-Japan government lashed out at Tokyo, demanding an apology and spawning distrust among some Japanese political leaders.

The eight uninhabited islands, 2,000 km (1,200 miles) southwest of Tokyo, are known as the Senkakus in Japan, Tiaoyutai in Taiwan and the Diaoyu islands in China. They are rich in fisheries and also thought to lie near undersea gas reserves.

"Our government has identified Japan as a special partner and hopes that through dialogue we can reduce fisheries conflicts that can cause conflicts in friendly Taiwan-Japan relations," the foreign ministry in Taipei said in a statement.

But the two sides avoided discussing the territorial dispute this week, when Taiwan's foreign ministry publicly condemned Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's statement to his parliament a day earlier that the islets belonged to Japan.

"There are a lot of things we need to discuss further, so this process will take more time," Taiwan foreign ministry spokesman Henry Chen said. (Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Jerry Norton)