President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 16 with experts participating in the 2013 ROC (Taiwan)-US-Japan Trilateral Security Dialogue. In addition to welcoming the visitors to Taiwan, the president exchanged opinions with them on a broad range of topics concerning Taiwan's relations with the United States, Japan, and mainland China.
In remarks, President Ma stated that he has pursued a policy of "viable diplomacy" since taking office over five years ago, which has transformed cross-strait relations and Taiwan's international relations from a "vicious cycle" into a "virtuous cycle." The president said the ROC government has sought to build and maintain harmonious relations with the United States, mainland China, and Japan – the world's three largest economies – to ensure the nation's survival and development.
With respect to relations between Taiwan and the United States, President Ma stated, upon taking office he adopted a "low key, no surprises" approach, which has re-established mutual trust at the highest levels. The president remarked that former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton two years ago publicly stated that Taiwan is an important security and economic partner of the United States. In addition, he said, the United States is fulfilling its security commitments to Taiwan based on the Taiwan Relations Act and the "Six Assurances," as evidenced by sales to Taiwan of defensive weapons amounting to an aggregate US$18.3 billion over the past five years, which is the highest level in 20 years. The president also noted that in November of last year the United States formally included Taiwan in its Visa Waiver Program, making Taiwan the 37th nation to be included in the initiative and the only one with which the United States does not maintain formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan's inclusion in the program is thus extremely significant, he commented.
President Ma further explained that in March of this year, Taiwan and the United States resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which had been stalled for five years, thus achieving a big breakthrough in bilateral economic and trade ties. He added that US Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who attended the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bali, Indonesia earlier this month, held talks with former Vice President Vincent C. Siew (蕭萬長), the Leader's Representative from the ROC. During the discussions, former Vice President Siew specially expressed Taiwan's desire to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was welcomed by the US side. This shows that the relationship between Taiwan and the United States is at the best it has been since the two countries severed formal diplomatic ties in 1979, the president stated.
As for relations between Taiwan and Japan, President Ma told the visitors that upon taking office he designated the bilateral relationship a "special partnership." Over this period, the two sides have signed a youth working holiday agreement, an open skies agreement, the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement, and a fisheries agreement. The president said that the fisheries agreement, which was signed in April of this year, resolved a 40-year dispute between the two countries, and marked a new milestone in bilateral ties. On the economic and trade front, President Ma noted, the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement makes it easier for Japanese enterprises to invest in Taiwan and manufacture products here. In addition, they can take advantage of the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) to export those items to mainland China, thereby expanding their export markets. This agreement has thus been extremely beneficial to both sides, he remarked.
President Ma further mentioned that in addition to Narita and Haneda airports in Tokyo, which were already open to Taiwanese carriers, the open skies agreement has further opened up airports in secondary cities throughout Japan. Last year, he said, the number of tourist visits between Taiwan and Japan came to nearly three million, while the number is expected to surpass 3.5 million this year, he commented, which points to even closer and friendlier ties between the two sides.
Turning to the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the president said that the improvement in cross-strait relations over the past five years is unprecedented. The two sides have signed 19 agreements, and achieved concrete results in other areas, as well. President Ma stressed that the ROC government has consistently sought, under the framework of the ROC Constitution, to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait, and to seek peaceful development of cross-strait ties under the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. The president said that former Vice President Siew and mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) during the recent APEC meetings had discussions in which both sides reached a further consensus on how to improve relations. He stated that Mainland Affairs Council Minister Wang Yu-Chi (王郁琦) met with mainland China's Minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Zhang Zhijun (張志軍). President Ma said that both officials addressed each other by their official titles and agreed to reciprocal visits in the future. This, the president commented, will improve the relationship, and conforms to the ROC's stance of "mutual non-recognition of sovereignty and mutual non-denial of governing authority."
Looking ahead, President Ma stated, the cross-strait relationship will continue to move forward under the principle of "shelving disputes and together creating win-win solutions." He said that the Legislative Yuan is presently screening the Cross-Strait Trade in Services Agreement, adding that he hopes the two sides will also sign a trade in goods agreement as soon as possible to hasten Taiwan's participation in regional economic integration.
As for Taiwan's participation in the international community, President Ma remarked, improved cross-strait ties have been conducive to Taiwan's participation in the international sector. For instance, he mentioned, Taiwan has attended the World Health Assembly for five consecutive years as an observer, and just last month an official from Taiwan was invited to attend the 38th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the first time in 42 years that Taiwan has sent a representative to the ICAO. In addition, the president noted, the number of jurisdictions that provide visa-free courtesies or landing visas to ROC nationals has risen from 54 to 134 since he took office, which proves that the "viable diplomacy" policy and improved cross-strait ties are both beneficial to the government and people of the ROC.
Lastly, President Ma emphasized that the government will continue working to improve the cross-strait relationship while also maintaining friendly relations with Japan and the United States. This, he said, will help to promote regional peace and prosperity.
Among those in attendance were former US House Representative Dan Burton and Mrs. Burton, US Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Vice President Jim Thomas, American Enterprise Institute Director of Asian Studies Dan Blumenthal, American Enterprise Institute Co-director of the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies Gary J. Schmitt, US-Taiwan Business Council President Rupert J. Hammond-Chambers, National Bureau of Asian Research's Energy Security Program Research Director Mikkal E. Herberg, Japanese House Representative Nagashima Akihisa, The Tokyo Foundation President Masahiro Akiyama, Keio University Professor Yorizumi Watanabe, Australian National University's National Security College Professor Michael Wesley, India's Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses Research Fellow Shebonti Ray Dadwal, and Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies Secretary-General Arthur S. Ding (丁樹範). The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ting Joseph Shih (石定) and Association of East Asian Relations Secretary-General Lo Koon Tsan (羅坤燦) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添) and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Jacob Chang (張大同).