President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 13 with a delegation led by Speaker Sabino Anastacio of the Republic of Palau's House of Delegates. In addition to welcoming the group to Taiwan on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president also called for further expansion of cooperation between the two countries.
In remarks, President Ma noted that Speaker Anastacio is a staunch friend of the ROC who, in 1999 when serving as Minister of State, played an important role in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. President Ma added that after a five-year absence, Speaker Anastacio is leading a delegation of new members of the House of Delegates to Taiwan, which further attests to the strong bond between Palau and the ROC.
The president remarked that in March 2010 he led an ROC delegation on a tour through the South Pacific, making state visits to six allies in the region. He stated that while Palau was the last stop on the journey, it was his first visit to that nation. The president said that the gorgeous scenery and the warmth and hospitality of that nation's people left a deep impression on him.
President Ma also said that Palau has supported meaningful participation for Taiwan in a number of important venues, including the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, among others. Besides the efforts made by Palau's executive branch, that nation's House of Delegates and Senate have passed a number of resolutions friendly to the ROC, he noted, adding that he is deeply appreciative of these gestures.
President Ma mentioned that Palau and the ROC have maintained close cooperation in a number of areas since establishing diplomatic ties, such as agriculture, fisheries, and clean energy. The president expressed hope that cooperation can be further expanded to enhance the bilateral relationship.
The president then commented on the recent incident in which a Philippine government vessel fired shots on Taiwan's Guang Da Xing No. 28 fishing vessel, which resulted in the death of an ROC fisherman and heavy damage to the vessel. President Ma told the visitors that the government and people of the ROC were shocked by the incident and are extremely angry. In particular, he said, this is not the first instance of violence by the Philippines against ROC fishermen. He noted that the ROC government has demanded that the Philippines immediately apologize, provide compensation for the losses, get to the bottom of the incident, punish those responsible for the killing, and immediately initiate fishery agreement negotiations with the ROC.
President Ma further stated that on May 12 he made a special visit to Liuqiu Township in Pingtung County to pay his condolences to the family of the fisherman who tragically lost his life in the incident. He expressed hope that this incident can be resolved as soon as possible. This is the reason, he said, that the ROC government has demanded that the Philippines respond positively to its demands within 72 hours. Otherwise, the ROC will be forced to adopt a number of sanctions against the Philippines in protest.
In addition to Speaker Anastacio, the delegation included committee chairmen of the House of Delegates: Lucio Ngiraiwet , the Foreign Relations and State Affairs Committee; Noah Kemeson, the Judiciary and Governmental Affairs Committee; Masasinge Arurang, the Public Works, Infrastructure and CIP Projects Committee; Lee T. Otobed, the Community Planning and Development Committee; Marino Oiterong Ngemaes, the Tourism and Aviation Committee; Yutaka Gibbons, Jr., the Education and Youth Affairs Committee. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Palau Charg'e D'Affaires in the ROC Lila Ann Ucheliou Demei to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), National Security Council Advisor Francis Yi-Hua Kan (甘逸驊), and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定).