By Ralph Jennings
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Japan on Monday turned back a Taiwanactivist boat which approached a group of disputed islands inprotest against a ship collision last week, the latest drama ina fast-escalating political dispute, officials said.
Japanese coastguard ships sprayed water into the air infront of the boat and nine accompanying Taiwan coastguardvessels 80 km (50 miles) from land, warning them to leave thearea 2,000 km southwest of Tokyo, authorities from Taiwan andJapan said.
The vessel, with about 12 activists on board and many moremedia representatives, left the area after a peaceful standoffof several hours and are likely to be received well at home.
"This spontaneous action by the people, we can understandand support," said Hsieh Hsiu-chi, spokeswoman for TaipeiCounty, from where the activists set out on Sunday. "The peoplehere are very angry."
Japan outraged Taiwan by detaining the captain of aTaiwanese fishing boat that hit a Japanese coastguard ship onTuesday.
The collision ignited a rare spat between two governmentsthat normally get along but whose relations are in focus withthe election of new Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou.
The collision took place near what Japan calls the Senkakuisles and what China calls the Diaoyutai and Taiwan theTiaoyutai. China also claims the eight uninhabited isles, whichboast rich fisheries may lie near undersea oil and gasreserves.
"This is an opportunity to enhance Taiwan's bargainingposition in order to negotiate fishery rights," said AndrewYang, secretary general of the China Council of Advanced PolicyStudies, a Taipei think tank. "In the past, the Japanesegovernment was reluctant to negotiate this issue with Taiwan."
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimuraexpressed "regret" over the protest boats. Taiwan has urgedJapan to apologise.
"The Senkaku islets are our territory, and this isextremely obvious in terms of history and international law,"Machimura said. "It is necessary for the parties involved torespond calmly."
Taiwan recalled its foreign ministry representative inJapan on Saturday over Tokyo's handling of the ship collision.The Taiwan captain was released on Friday, but named in aJapanese investigation as a suspect.
(Additional reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Yoko Kubota inTokyo; Editing by Nick Macfie)
