President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 8 with a delegation from the Atlantic Council, a US-based think tank. The president briefed his visitors on the concrete progress the government has achieved over the past five years in relations with the United States, mainland China, and the international community. In addition, he reiterated that Taiwan will continue to use peaceful measures to resolve international disputes, and will rely on international cooperation to enhance trade and economic relations.
In remarks, President Ma stated that since taking office in 2008, his administration has adopted a policy of "low key, no surprises," which has restored trust between Taiwan and the United States at the highest levels. The president commented that two years ago former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton publicly stated that Taiwan is an important security and economic partner of the United States. This is a very accurate portrayal of the current state of relations between the two countries, he added.
President Ma pointed out that over the past five years, the United States has sold Taiwan three packages of arms worth an aggregate of over US$18.3 billion, the largest amount of weapons sales by the United States to Taiwan in the past 20 years. Furthermore, the president noted, the United States in November of last year formally included Taiwan in its Visa Waiver Program, which has created even more frequent interaction between the two sides. And in February of this year, Taiwan and the United States signed the Agreement on Privileges, Exemptions and Immunities, which provides greater protection to each side's diplomats and their family members. The president said that the ROC's representative office in the United States for the past two years has held National Day celebration activities at Twin Oaks Estate. In addition, over the past couple of years, many high-ranking government officials and heavyweight Congressional delegations from the United States have visited Taiwan, which he said proves that relations between Taiwan and the United States have become even closer and friendlier.
The president stated that although he currently cannot make official visit to the United States, he has made transit stops during his trips to the ROC's diplomatic allies in Central and South America. He said that during those layovers he has had opportunities to speak over the phone with senators, members of the House of Representatives, and administration officials, and these direct communications have enhanced relations between the two sides. The president stated that last year the government here resolved the issue of US beef imports to Taiwan, following which Taiwan and the United States resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement. He expressed hope that the two sides can sign a bilateral investment agreement or similar accords, using a "building block" approach to further enhance the state of bilateral economic and trade relations.
With respect to disputes over national territory, the president turned to the example of Taiwan's handling of the Diaoyutai Islets. President Ma said that in August of last year he unveiled the East China Sea Peace Initiative, urging all parties involved to reduce tension and increase dialogue in order to resolve the dispute via peaceful means. This would also set the basis for the parties involved to jointly develop the region's resources, he commented. After over half a year of efforts, Taiwan and Japan in April of this year set the sovereignty dispute on a back burner and signed a bilateral fisheries agreement, he stated. This marked a major breakthrough in negotiations that had spanned 17 years, he remarked, noting that the pact resolved a 40-year fisheries dispute, and the manner in which it was reached was in keeping with Taiwan's basic principle that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared."
President Ma cited another example, saying that in May of this year, coast guard personnel on a Philippine government vessel fired shots at a Taiwanese fishing boat that was operating in overlapping exclusive economic waters, causing the death of a fisherman and damage to the vessel. Following over three months of efforts, the two sides effectively resolved the dispute, with the Philippine side not only offering an apology and providing compensation, but also filing charges against the personnel responsible for the shooting. This, the president said, enabled the government here to ensure the justice was upheld in this incident. President Ma mentioned that Taiwan and the Philippines carried out simultaneous investigations of the incident to uncover the truth. Subsequently, preliminary rules have been set forth for fishing boats operating in the area, the president said, adding that prior to either side taking action according to regulations, the other side is to be notified and use of force is not allowed. Consequently, both sides have been able to address a number of other recent fishing disputes in a speedy manner, he commented. This, he stated, shows that international disputes can be resolved through peaceful means.
In discussing the state of cross-strait relations, President Ma explained to the visitors that over the past five years, relations between Taiwan and mainland China have improved considerably and now both sides maintain close interaction. To date, he said, the two sides have signed a total of 19 agreements which cover, among other things, direct trade, postal, and transport links, and visits by mainland Chinese to Taiwan. The two sides have also signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement. Together, these constitute an important breakthrough in ties between the two sides after 60 years of hostility, he said. In addition, peace is now considered normal in the Taiwan Strait, he remarked.
President Ma commented that the improvement in cross-strait relations has also helped to create greater space for Taiwan in the international community. For instance, Taiwan has already attended the World Health Assembly five consecutive years as an observer. It has also become a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement, he said. Moreover, the president stated, a representative from Taiwan, under the name Chinese Taipei, was invited as a special guest by the president of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council to attend this year's assembly. This marks the first time that Taiwan has been present at an ICAO Assembly since it lost its representation in the United Nations 42 years ago, making this development all the more meaningful, he stated.
President Ma opined that over the past five years, the vicious cycle in cross-strait relations that had been impacting Taiwan's relations with the international community has now been turned into a virtuous cycle. Taiwan maintains the most stable and peaceful relationships in its history with the world's largest economy, the United States, the world's second largest economy, mainland China, and the third largest economy in the world, Japan, the president said. He remarked that in the future the government will continue to utilize a variety of avenues to further improve relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and between Taiwan and the rest of the world. At the same time, Taiwan will work to maintain a balance in its ties with all of these sides, he said. It hopes that international disputes will be resolved via peaceful means and that international cooperation will help to enhance trade and economic relationships, he stated.
The delegation included Atlantic Council Vice President Barry Pavel, Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly (a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council), and former US Deputy Assistant Secretary David S. Sedney of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. The group was led by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe to the Presidential Office to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Jacob Chang (張大同) and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定).