Asian Islands in Dispute - NYTimes.com Re "China's Evolving "Core Interests" " (editorial, May 12): The Republic of China (Taiwan) has a legitimate claim to sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands based on geological, historical and legal factors. The islands have the closest physical proximity to Taiwan and have been used by Taiwanese fishermen for generations. Taiwan insists on using peaceful methods and multilateral approaches to resolve related conflicts. As such, President Ma Ying-jeou proposed the East China Sea Peace Initiative on Aug. 5, 2012, calling on all parties to shelve controversies and resolve disputes peacefully while establishing a cooperative mechanism for resource development. Taiwan's diplomatic approach has yielded concrete and positive results; last month, Japan and Taiwan signed a fishery agreement giving Taiwanese fishermen access to an additional 1,400 square nautical miles of fishing territory. Virulent nationalism, irredentism and militarism are not effective ways to approach this delicate international situation. Only peace will bring prosperity, and we call on all parties to pursue legal and diplomatic courses of action. BRIAN SU Director, Press Division Taipei Economic and Cultural Office New York, May 13, 2013