President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of July 16 with a delegation from the US congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC). During the meeting, President Ma called for continued enhancement of bilateral relations and reiterated Taiwan's strong desire to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
In remarks, the president stated that relations between Taiwan and the United States have seen clear advancements in recent years. He specifically pointed to Taiwan becoming the 37th member of the US Visa Waiver Program last year, adding that the ROC is the only nation in the program with which the United States does not maintain formal diplomatic relations. And following resolution of the issue of US beef imports, Taiwan's imports of US beef have returned to the levels of the past. Accordingly, Taiwan and the United States in March of this year resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), he noted. The president expressed hope that cooperation in economic and trade relations will see breakthroughs in the days ahead.
President Ma further stated that in addition to Taiwan's desire to discuss a bilateral investment arrangement with the United States under the umbrella of the TIFA, Taiwan also wants to join the TPP once the conditions are ripe. The president remarked that on July 10 this year Taiwan and New Zealand inked the Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC), adding that he hopes Taiwan and Singapore will ink a similar accord in the near future. Both New Zealand and Singapore are parties to the TPP, he said, explaining that if Taiwan can sign economic cooperation agreements or arrangements with these two countries, it will have a significantly greater chance to join the TPP. In particular, he commented, the economic cooperation agreement that has been signed with New Zealand and that will be signed with Singapore are of high quality. In other words, after the signing of these accords, 80-90% of the items included in the agreements will receive tariff-free treatment, he remarked.
President Ma also mentioned that US President Barack Obama recently signed a piece of legislation passed by the House of Representatives supporting observer status for Taiwan in the International Civil Aviation Organization. And when meeting with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) in June this year, President Obama said that "the United States government strongly supports efforts by Taiwan and mainland China to improve cross-strait relations in recent years, and hopes both sides will continue to progress in the same manner." President Ma further explained that Taiwan and mainland China on June 21 this year signed the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement, adding that Taiwan hopes to conclude negotiations with mainland China by the end of this year on an agreement on trade in goods, thereby fully fleshing out the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in 2010. This will foster better relations between the two sides and help Taiwan to sign similar agreements with other countries, he said.
Regarding the sovereignty dispute over the Diaoyutai Islets, the president explained, Taiwan has embraced a policy of resolving international disputes in a peaceful manner. With this in mind, it signed a fisheries agreement with Japan this April, thus resolving a 40-year dispute, he said. In fact, the president stated, the basic method adopted in the negotiation of this agreement was the same as that adopted in seeking to improve cross-strait relations, i.e. temporarily shelving sovereignty controversies and instead seeking to forge a win-win situation. President Ma stressed that shelving sovereignty disputes does not mean shelving Taiwan's sovereignty claims. In the fisheries agreement with Japan, Taiwan did not cede an inch in this respect, but at the same time made great progress in terms of fishing rights. This was an extremely important development for the fishermen of Taiwan, he stated.
President Ma also touched on the Guang Da Xing No. 28 fishing boat incident that took place in early May, in which a Philippine government vessel used automatic weapons to attack an unarmed Taiwanese fishing boat that was operating within the ROC's economic zone south of Taiwan, resulting in the death of a Taiwanese fisherman. The president stated that after the incident, Taiwan again adopted the same stance of seeking a peaceful resolution of the dispute. On the one hand, it made four demands of the Philippines, namely: to offer a formal apology; to provide compensation for the losses; to promptly and thoroughly investigate the incident and severely punish those responsible for the killing; and to initiate fishery negotiations between the two countries as soon as possible. These demands were made with the hope of preventing the recurrence of such an incident, he said. President Ma commented that both sides carried out a parallel and cooperative investigation in accordance with a judicial cooperation agreement signed between Taiwan and the Philippines this April. The Philippines sent officials to Taiwan to visit those affected by the incident and to examine the damage to the fishing boat. Meanwhile, Taiwan sent officials to the Philippines to examine the Philippine government vessel and interview people who allegedly were involved in the shooting, he noted. The president remarked that both sides concluded their investigations over a month ago and Taiwan is waiting for the Philippine government to formally respond to its demands. At present, however, Taiwan continues to keep in place 11 sanctions that it has levied against the Philippines, and this has affected the bilateral relationship. He expressed hope that the case will come to a conclusion as soon as possible.
President Ma reiterated that regardless whether the dispute was in the East China Sea or in the South China Sea, Taiwan has advocated and adopted peaceful means to resolve controversies. Therefore, the principle that "sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, but natural resources can be shared" in no way prejudices the sovereignty claims of the parties involved in a dispute, he said. In addition, the sharing of resources can reduce tensions while also yielding benefits to those involved, he added.
President Ma praised and thanked the USCC for repeatedly urging in its annual report that the US Congress pay close attention to Taiwan's national security needs and support Taiwan's continued improvement of relations with mainland China. The president stated that since taking office in 2008, he has embraced a "low key, no surprises" approach, thus re-establishing mutual trust at the highest levels of government. He further expressed confidence that ties will continue to be based on mutual trust in the future.
The delegation, which was led by USCC Vice Chairman Dennis C. Shea, was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Director Christopher J. Marut of the American Institute in Taiwan Taipei Office to meet 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 Ting Joseph Shih (石定).