President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of April 6 with a delegation led by former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage. In addition to commenting on recent progress in Taiwan-US relations, the president also briefed his visitors on the ROC's successes in improving relations with mainland China and the international community.
In remarks, President Ma began by explaining the three big recent breakthroughs in Taiwan-US relations. First, when US President Barack Obama met this past March 31 with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), he spoke in very positive terms about the historic progress in cross-strait relations over the past eight years. Second, President Obama has strongly praised Taiwan's handling of its enriched uranium stockpiles. And third, the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States recently issued a joint statement to announce that Taiwan has been admitted to the US Global Entry program, which will make it much simpler for successful applicants to pass through customs upon arrival in the US. These three facts amply prove that bilateral ties are continually progressing, which is quite gratifying, he said.
President Ma pointed out that Taiwan just elected a new president and national legislature this past January 16. The elections marked the third peaceful handover of ruling power between political parties in Taiwan, and achieved a historic milestone by producing the first female president in the history of the ROC.
The president stated that less than a week after the elections, the government and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had both established their own handover taskforces and exchanged views on the relevant issues in hopes of ensuring a smooth and seamless transition, maintaining a smoothly functioning state, and creating a healthy precedent for Taiwanese democracy. On March 30, he also met with President-elect and DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to discuss such topics as education, industry, and nuclear energy. The atmosphere during the meeting was very cordial, said the president, who added that both sides agreed on the need to set a good democratic precedent. In the future, he remarked, he would be quite happy to provide any information needed to ensure about a smooth transition.
Commenting on interaction between Taiwan and the US, President Ma stressed that the ROC government has taken a "low-key, no surprises" approach over the past eight years in its conduct of bilateral relations, and the result is that ties are now the best they've been in the 37 years since passage of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
The president pointed out that the US has long faithfully abided by its security commitments made to Taiwan under the TRA and the Six Assurances. The US has sold Taiwan US$20.1 billion worth of arms over the past nearly eight years, the highest figure over any comparable period in the last 20 years, and double the amount of arms that were sold to Taiwan during the eight-year term of his predecessor. The US Congress passed the Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2014 in November of that year, authorizing the sale of four Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates to Taiwan. The Transfer Act was formally signed into law last December, and will contribute greatly to Taiwan's naval capabilities. The US also agreed in 2001 to sell Taiwan diesel-electric submarines. The US itself, however, has built only nuclear submarines over the past 15 years and no longer builds diesel-electric submarines, which has made it extremely difficult for Taiwan to acquire this important defensive weaponry. The ROC government has therefore taken steps to launch domestic production of submarines and import needed technology in an effort to bolster the nation's defense capabilities.
Turning to the topic of cross-strait ties, President Ma stated that since he took office Taiwan has sought under the framework of the ROC Constitution to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait, and seek peaceful cross-strait relations in line with the 1992 Consensus—whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. The two sides have signed 23 agreements, and the ministers in charge of cross-strait affairs from each side have met seven times, addressing each other using their official titles during the meetings. Over the past seven-plus years, the number of regularly scheduled, direct cross-strait flights has risen from zero to 890 per week, and cumulative tourist arrivals from the mainland has topped 18 million. Meanwhile, there are now about 42,000 mainland students studying in Taiwan, over 50 times more than the 823 students who had been studying here before he took office. It is thus clear, he said, that the Taiwan Strait has been transformed from a flashpoint of conflict into an avenue of peace.
Regarding his meeting on November 7 last year in Singapore with mainland Chinese leader Mr. Xi, President Ma stated that the two sides exchanged views on how to consolidate cross-strait peace and maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. The day after the meeting, the US government issued a statement, saying that "The United States welcomes the meeting between leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait…, and we encourage further progress by both sides toward building ties, reducing tensions, and promoting stability on the basis of dignity and respect."
President Ma stated that the Ma-Xi meeting was an event of symbolic significance, to be sure, but also yielded substantive results. More importantly, the US, Taiwan, and mainland China have established a virtuous cycle in which each of the three parties can interact well with either of the other parties without worrying about negative consequences. "This is an extremely important breakthrough that we've achieved over the past eight years."
Commenting on the ROC's external relations, President Ma stressed that the government has improved cross-strait ties and pursued a "viable diplomacy" policy. He also hopes that improved cross-strait ties can bring peace to the East and South China Seas, achieving the goal of "Peace in the Three Seas."
The president pointed out that in August of 2012 the ROC proposed the East China Sea Peace Initiative to call on all the relevant parties to resolve disputes through peaceful means, and in accordance with international law. Taiwan and Japan subsequently signed a bilateral fisheries agreement in April of 2013, thus putting a 40-year fisheries dispute to rest. As a result, Taiwan has achieved its goal of "ceding nothing in terms of sovereignty, yet making great strides in terms of fishing rights," he stated. In May of 2015, the ROC further proposed the South China Sea Peace Initiative to urge all parties to resolve disputes peacefully through negotiations. And then in November of that same year, Taiwan and the Philippines signed the Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters, which has successfully reduced conflict between the two sides in their overlapping economic zones.
The president reiterated that, with respect to the South China Sea issue, the ROC has always called on all parties concerned to reduce tensions, increase dialogue, respect all nations' freedom of navigation and overflight, maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, and settle disputes peacefully in accordance with international law. Taiwan has also expressed support for, and a willingness to act in accordance with, the US call for "permanently halting land reclamation, stopping the construction of new facilities and ceasing further militarization of disputed maritime features."
In addition to thanking his visitors for their contributions to Taiwan-US ties, President Ma expressed hope for further enhancement of bilateral relations.
Also included in the delegation were former US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M. Campbell, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Randall Schriver, and former Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the White House's National Security Council Evan S. Medeiros.