President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of July 9 at the Presidential Office met with Japan Interchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Tadashi Ikeda. The president thanked Mr. Ikeda for his efforts and contributions to fostering substantive and friendly ties between Taiwan and Japan during his tenure as chief representative. President Ma also expressed Taiwan's willingness to not only maintain but also further improve relations between the two countries in the future.
President Ma said he is delighted to have the opportunity to meet with Chief Representative Ikeda prior to Mr. Ikeda's completing his posting in Taiwan and returning to Japan. The president said that Mr. Ikeda is a senior diplomat in Japan's foreign service and is also a noted expert on China-related issues. After he retired from Japan's foreign service, he became the chief representative of the Taipei Office of the Interchange Association. During Mr. Ikeda's tenure in Taipei over the past three-plus years, he has played an active role in paving the way for visa-free courtesies for tourists from each nation when traveling to the other. He also played an important role in enabling Taiwan airlines to fly charters to cities throughout Japan to foster tourism, as well as having each country recognize the driver's licenses issued by the other. The president said he has made outstanding contributions to strengthening relations between Taiwan and Japan.
In speaking of the recent incident in which a Japanese coast guard vessel bumped a Taiwan sports fishing boat in the waters off the Diaoyutai islands, President Ma said he can understand the frame of mind of Chief Representative Ikeda. He praised the chief representative as befitting of his position as a senior diplomat given his high level of cooperation and tacit understanding in handling the incident and working with the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was crucial in monitoring the development of the incident and offering up an effective proposal to resolve the situation. President Ma said that thanks to the chief representative's many years of experience, he has established smooth avenues for communication with the highest levels of the Japanese government. As a result, the governments of both nations were able to quickly address and resolve the incident in a calm manner, thereby preventing any impact on relations between the two countries.
President Ma said that while there were various ups and downs during the handling of the incident, the situation was resolved in a satisfactory manner. He said he was deeply impressed by the efforts exhibited by Chief Representative Ikeda and Deputy Chief Representative Hitoshi Funamachi. President Ma stressed that Taiwan and Japan need to engage in further negotiation to address the source of the dispute that led to the incident, which includes talks regarding fishing rights. While the two sides have different opinions on which nation holds sovereignty over the Diaoyutais, the president said he is confident that a solution can be found that will be acceptable to everyone as long as both sides display wisdom in the handling of the situation. This will avoid the issue from leading to greater losses and harming bilateral ties, he said. The president said he believes Chief Representative Ikeda shares the same stance.
President Ma once again expressed his gratitude to Chief Representative Ikeda for his contributions and efforts made in strengthening relations between Taiwan and Japan during his tenure. He said that upon Mr. Ikeda's return to Japan, he hopes he will express to various circles Taiwan's willingness to further strengthen bilateral ties. The president pledged to continue to work to promote friendly relations and interaction between the two countries.