President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of October 23 with a delegation of members of the British Parliament. He briefed his visitors on Taiwan's efforts in pursuit of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and called for even closer ties between Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
In remarks, President Ma noted that the leader of the delegation, MP Simon Burns, previously served as UK minister of state for health services and minister of state for transport. Also from the House of Commons in this delegation was MP George Howarth, who previously served as parliamentary under secretary of state at the Home Office. Meanwhile, MP Stuart Andrew previously served as co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for High Speed Rail, while MP Sarah Champion co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Health Group, said the president. Each of them has considerable political influence in Britain, he stated.
Commenting on relations between Taiwan and the UK, President Ma noted that the UK was the first country in Europe to provide visa-free courtesies to ROC nationals, following which the Schengen nations, Canada, and the United States also granted similar treatment. The president said that this move marked a brand new era in relations between Taiwan and the UK, and has significantly boosted the number of ROC nationals willing to visit the UK for tourism, study, and business. He added that the UK has become the second most popular study abroad destination for students from Taiwan, which indicates that the interaction between the two sides is increasingly close.
Turning to economic, trade, and investment ties, President Ma noted that the UK is Taiwan's third largest trading partner in Europe. He further mentioned that bilateral trade last year totaled £3.8 billion, and the value of the UK's exports of goods to Taiwan rose 7.8% from the previous year. As of the end of last year, Taiwan had made total investments of about £760 million in the UK, which constitutes nearly 20% of Taiwan's total investments in Europe, he said. In addition, in the first quarter of this year over half of Taiwan's external investment was directed to the UK. All of this data points to strong ties between the two sides, the president said.
President Ma also explained that since taking office in 2008 he has worked actively to improve Taiwan's relations with mainland China and other countries throughout the world, and that considerable achievements have been seen. Over the past six years, Taiwan and mainland China have signed 21 agreements, and cross-strait ties are better now than at any other time in the past 65 years, he said. In addition, the president remarked that, after referring to the successful example of the UK and neighboring countries jointly developing the oil fields in the North Sea, he unveiled his East China Sea Peace Initiative in August 2012. Under this initiative, he calls on all parties to embrace the spirit of "shelving disputes and promoting joint exploration development," and to agree that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared."
President Ma further mentioned that in April of last year Taiwan and Japan signed a fisheries agreement, successfully resolving a 40-year fishing dispute and enabling fishermen from both countries to boost their catches significantly. The president also pointed out that in May of last year personnel on a Philippine Coast Guard vessel fired upon a Taiwanese fishing boat in overlapping economic waters, damaging the boat and killing a fisherman. After peaceful negotiations, the Philippine government issued a formal apology and provided compensation. At the same time, the two sides reached a consensus on the conduct of law enforcement in overlapping economic waters, he noted, adding that this has been conducive to peace and stability in the South China Sea.
As for the topic of sovereignty in the South China Sea, President Ma said, the ROC has sovereignty over islands in that area, and is thus a claimant country there. He further stated that the complexity of the situation means that all parties need to exercise even greater wisdom in resolving sovereignty disputes. "The issue of sovereignty should not become a barrier to security in the South China Sea," the president said in concluding his remarks.
The delegation was escorted to the Office of the President by British Trade & Cultural Office Taiwan Director Chris Wood and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Vanessa Yea-Ping Shih (史亞平).