According to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, ships bound from Taiwan to China have thus far had to travel via an intermediate location such as Ishigaki, in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture. In addition to the extra fuel expense, Ishigaki has been charging US $ 20,000 per port call.
交通部指出，過去我國海運船行駛兩岸，必須彎靠日本石垣島等第三地，除了額外的油料支出外，每航次還需付兩萬美元（約新台幣 64 萬元）給石垣島。