President Ma Ying-jeou reiterated on the morning of October 18 that the government will adopt a careful and resolute attitude with regard to the idea of a "cross-strait peace agreement." The president recently introduced the possibility of realizing such an agreement in his "Golden Decade, National Visions" blueprint. However, he said that an agreement would be considered only when the following three preconditions are met: 1) such an agreement would have to be necessary to the ROC; 2) it would have to be supported by the public; and 3) the entire process would have to be subject to oversight by the national legislature. President Ma stressed that Taiwan cannot evade the issue of cross-strait peace and must squarely face the matter. Such an agreement is not tantamount to unification with mainland China, he added, but rather would be addressed in order to continue to sustain existing cross-strait peace.
The president made the remarks when meeting with participants in an international security dialogue among Taiwan, Japan, and the United States.
President Ma further described what he means by "in the nation's interests," noting that this constitutes three conditions, including "putting Taiwan first for the benefit of the people," achieving a high degree of mutual trust between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and doing what is welcomed by the region and the international community.
The president said that the government's consideration of looking into and signing a "cross-strait peace agreement" with mainland China in the next decade would be carried out with the hope of institutionalizing cross-strait rapprochement and cooperation. The objective of the accord, he explained, would be to achieve perpetual peace in the Taiwan Strait, adding that peace is the desired result anticipated by people on both sides.
The president stated that the three lines of defense constitute Taiwan’s national security, namely, institutionalizing the cross-strait rapprochement, enhancing Taiwan’s contributions to international development, and aligning Taiwan’s defense with diplomacy. He said that since he took office in May 2008, he has promoted cross-strait peace under the framework of the ROC Constitution by maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait via the "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" principle as well as the "1992 Consensus,” i.e.—“one China, respective interpretations." Efforts over the past three-plus years have resulted in the signing of 15 agreements between the two sides. In addition, in the coming few weeks the two sides are expected to ink further agreements, he revealed.
In discussing relations between Taiwan and the United States, the president stated that over the past three-plus years, the United States has sold Taiwan packages of arms worth a total of US$18.3 billion. Moreover, the two sides have re-established mutual trust at the highest levels. Meanwhile, relations between Taiwan and Japan are also progressing, the president remarked, pointing out that just last month the two countries signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement. This year, Japan sent 66 members of its parliament to attend festivities marking Taiwan's centenary, which the president said highlights the close and friendly relationship between the two countries. In addition to expressing his hope for even closer relations with Japan, President Ma once again urged the United States to sell Taiwan F-16 C/D series fighter jets and diesel electric submarines in order to help Taiwan enhance its defense capability.
The delegation included US Congressmen Peter Roskam and Tom Reed and Japanese House of Councillors member Yoichi Masuzoe . The group was led to the Presidential Office by Deputy Foreign Minister Lyushun Shen (沈呂巡) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu (劉志攻).