President Ma Ying-jeou met with US Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican of Alaska) on the morning of January 15. Besides extending a warm welcome to Senator Murkowski on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president expressed his desire for a further strengthening of interaction and cooperation between the two countries in a wide range of areas.
In remarks, the president noted that the current US Congress has been in session for less than two weeks, and said he is deeply touched that Senator Murkowski has nonetheless decided to make the long trip to Taiwan at this point. President Ma remarked that Senator Murkowski's father was Frank Murkowski , who served both as a US senator and the governor of Alaska. In those positions, he frequently provided assistance to the ROC on issues related to security, trade, and Taiwan's participation in international organizations, the president said. President Ma furthermore commented that during her time in the US Senate, Senator Murkowski has also spoken on behalf of Taiwan on numerous occasions with respect to US arms sales to Taiwan and Taiwan's participation in the international community. President Ma stressed that Senator Murkowski is the most resolute friend of the ROC in the US Congress.
Noting that this marks the first visit to Taiwan by Senator Murkowski since October 2006, President Ma expressed confidence that she will sense the development and progress of Taiwan over the past several years, as well as the advancements in US-Taiwan relations and relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. On the subject of cross-strait relations, the president said that since taking office in 2008 he has strived to improve ties between Taiwan and mainland China and promote peace in the Taiwan Strait. To date, the two sides have already signed agreements that have opened up the "three direct links," namely direct transportation, postal, and trade links. In addition, pacts have been signed on the joint combating of crime, economic cooperation, and currency clearing. In all, he said, 18 agreements and two points of consensus have been signed, thus bringing cross-strait relations to their most peaceful and stable state in the past 60 years. As for trade, the president cited data showing that trade between Taiwan and mainland China last year exceeded US$150 billion, or 39% of Taiwan's total external trade. The president explained that while the volume of trade continues to increase, trade with mainland China as a percentage of total external trade has fallen since he first took office. This shows that the government not only places great importance on cross-strait trade, but at the same time is also pursuing trade growth with other countries and areas, he said.
As for relations between Taiwan and the United States, the president stated, upon taking office he sought to re-establish mutual trust between Taiwan and the United States at the highest levels. In addition, Taiwan's embrace of a "low key, no surprises" approach to ties with the United States has brought big progress in bilateral relations, he said. President Ma stated that over the past four years, the United States has sold Taiwan US$18.3 billion worth of arms, which is the highest amount in the past 20 years. The government, he said, is also extremely pleased to see the United States boost the level of officials visiting Taiwan to that of secretary or deputy secretary. The president also noted that Taiwan and the United States engage in broad cooperation on the Megaports Initiative , the prevention of human trafficking, anti-proliferation, and anti-terrorism. He furthermore stated that on November 1 of last year, the United States formally included Taiwan in its Visa Waiver Program. This not only enables ROC nationals to save considerable amounts on visa fees and makes the application process much simpler, but also has yielded the benefit of a sharp increase in the number of ROC nationals visiting the United States in recent months, he said.
With respect to Taiwan-US trade relations, the president remarked, in July of last year the ROC amended legislation that enabled the nation to open its doors to imports of US beef. According to statistics, over 3,000 tons of US beef were imported in October and November, the same level as before the import ban was instituted. Even though this issue triggered considerable controversy domestically, the president said, Taiwan's decision to allow imports of US beef shows its determination to pursue free trade. In addition, he pointed out that in September of last year during the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, his envoy to the meeting Mr. Lien Chan (連戰) met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the two reached a consensus to resume negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. President Ma noted that these talks are expected to get underway in the not too distant future.
President Ma also expressed his appreciation to Senator Murkowski for personally writing letters urging the US administration to sell F-16C/D series advanced fighter jets to Taiwan. He said this shows that these arms deals continue to enjoy broad support in the US Congress. The president also pointed out that the progress in cross-strait relations and the development of relations between Taiwan and the United States are complementary. Consequently, the ROC government will continue to seek to acquire advanced weapons from the United States in order to guarantee Taiwan's national security and maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, he said. At the same time, Taiwan will continue to improve its relations with mainland China and expand bilateral interaction, so that reconciliation in cross-strait relations can become the nation's first line of defense, he noted.
The president then turned the topic to the Diaoyutai Islets, explaining that the government has consistently stated that Diaoyutais are inherent territory of the ROC and are appurtenant to Taiwan. However, based on the principle that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared," he unveiled the East China Sea Peace Initiative in August of last year. The president said he hopes that negotiation and dialogue can be used to reduce the possibility of conflict. He furthermore expressed his hope that all sides will agree to shelve the sovereignty dispute and discuss joint cooperation in the development of resources in the East China Sea. President Ma cited the example of the North Sea oil fields, explaining that European nations were willing to shelve their sovereignty dispute over the area and jointly develop the oil resources there, thus enabling Brent Crude to become one of the most important petroleum trading classifications in the world. President Ma stated that this experience provided an ideal model for dispute resolution, and could be replicated by countries involved in the East China Sea dispute.
President Ma stressed that Taiwan relies on imports for over 99% of its energy needs. The East China Sea has abundant resources, he stated, but noted that the resources in the area have not been exploited due to the controversy among the various parties, which is a pity. President Ma remarked that Senator Murkowski hails from Alaska, which is blessed with abundant natural resources, and a Taiwan-Alaska Trade Investment Cooperation Council has been established, so it would be good if the two sides could engage in further cooperation in a variety of areas, including energy, to their mutual benefit.
Senator Murkowski, along with Isaac Edwards, Senior Counsel to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources , were accompanied to the Presidential office by American Institute in Taiwan Director Christopher J. Marut to meet with President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Secretary-General Jason C. Yuan (袁健生), and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tung Kuoyu (董國猷).