President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of August 7 with United States Senator Ron Wyden and Mrs. Wyden. In addition to expressing his gratitude to Senator Wyden for his longstanding support for Taiwan, the president also expressed hope that relations between Taiwan and the United States will grow even stronger.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Senator Wyden has for many years strongly supported of Taiwan in Congress on a variety of issues, including US arms sales to Taiwan and calling for the United States to abide by its commitments to Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act. The president also commented that three years ago when Senator Wyden became aware of an internal document in the World Health Organization (WHO) that demeaningly described Taiwan as a province of mainland China, he and several colleagues in the Senate issued a joint letter expressing their concern to the WHO director-general about this development. At the time, US Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius also convened a press conference during which she delivered a statement saying that no organization of the United Nations has a right to unilaterally determine the position of Taiwan. President Ma thanked Senator Wyden for his longstanding support and sincere friendship for Taiwan.
The president further mentioned that Senator Wyden has over the years been a resolute supporter of the universal values of democracy, equal rights, and freedom. In 2012, the senator strongly opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, both of which, if passed by Congress, could have restricted freedom on the Internet. Senator Wyden's stance was strongly applauded by netizens around the world, and President Ma said he admires the senator for defending what he believes in.
The president further noted that upon taking office in 2008 he worked to restore mutual trust at the highest levels between Taiwan and the United States. In recent years, the government has continued to embrace the "low key, no surprises" policy with respect to relations between the two sides, which has enabled bilateral ties to move forward on the foundation of stability and mutual trust. He said this development helped pave the way for the United States to admit Taiwan in its Visa Waiver Program in 2012. Since then, the number of ROC nationals visiting the United States has grown by over 30%, which indicates that interaction between the two sides is now more frequent than in the past.
In discussing bilateral economic and trade cooperation, President Ma remarked that the ROC government hopes to strengthen trade and investment ties by negotiating and signing a bilateral investment agreement as soon as possible. The president also stated Taiwan's desire to take part in the second round of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), entry to which would further strengthen economic and trade ties and spur increased cooperation in these areas.
President Ma stressed that he began work to improve relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait upon taking office six years ago, and since then many concrete results have been seen, including the signing of 21 agreements and the reaching of consensus on two other issues. This, the president said, has effectively reduced tension and transformed the Taiwan Strait from a potential battlefield into a plaza of peace and marketplace of prosperity.
President Ma noted that he put forward his East China Sea Peace Initiative two years ago with the idea that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared." This initiative urges all parties to a dispute to employ dialogue to reduce the possibility of conflict and mitigate tension associated with territorial disputes. In accordance with the spirit of the initiative, Taiwan signed a fisheries agreement with Japan in April of last year that resolved a 40-year fishing dispute and paved the way for a dramatic increase in catches by both Taiwanese and Japanese fishermen in the previously disputed area.
The president also mentioned that Taiwan and the Philippines last year adopted peaceful means to resolve the Guang Da Xing No. 28 fishing boat incident, in which a Philippine Coast Guard vessel fired on a Taiwanese fishing boat in overlapping exclusive economic waters, killing a fisherman and damaging the boat. The two sides negotiated for three months, which ultimately yielded a formal apology, compensation from the Philippine government, and the filing of homicide charges by the Philippine authorities against eight Coast Guard personnel responsible for the shootings. In addition, after repeated rounds of talks, the two sides reached a consensus to avoid the use of force when enforcing the law at sea, to notify each other before any law enforcement action is taken, and to promptly release any persons detained or arrested. This has significantly reduced the number of fishing disputes between Taiwan and its neighbors, he stated, pointing out that last year there was only one dispute between Taiwan and Japan in the East China Sea and one dispute in the South China Sea between Taiwan and the Philippines. This proves that countries within the region can act pragmatically and peacefully in the spirit of the peace initiative, and use diplomacy to resolve controversies.
The United States has also applauded the East China Sea Peace Initiative. President Ma said US Assistant Secretary of State of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel and former American Institute in Taiwan Director Douglas Paal have both stated publicly that the initiative is helping to bring stability and prosperity to the region and has been widely praised in the international community.