President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of March 10 with a delegation from the Project 2049 Institute from the United States. In addition to extending a welcome to the delegation, the president updated the visitors on accomplishments associated with trade and economic interaction between Taiwan and the United States.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Taiwan is situated in the center of the first island chain in the Pacific, a key strategic position. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and current Secretary of State John Kerry have both publicly emphasized the importance of cooperation between Taiwan and the United States in the areas of security and economics. The president remarked that since he took office in 2008, a key objective of his administration has been to restore mutual trust between Taiwan and the United States at the highest levels of government. He said that the ROC has embraced the principle of "low key, no surprises" in its dealings with the United States, believing that this corresponds to the interests of both sides. Many positive achievements have been seen to date as a result, with the president specifically citing that the United States has sold the ROC over US$18.3 billion worth of arms over the past six years, the highest amount in the past two decades.
With respect to economic and trade interaction, President Ma said that Taiwan last year surpassed India and Saudi Arabia to become the tenth largest trading partner of the United States. Meanwhile, the United States vaulted past Japan to become Taiwan's second largest trading partner. Statistics indicate that bilateral trade in goods last year reached US$67.4 billion, which was 6.3% higher than 2013, he said. In addition, the United States has listed Taiwan as an important source of investment under the SelectUSA investment initiative. Business leaders from Taiwan plan to attend the 2015 SelectUSA Investment Summit that will be held in Washington, D. C. later this month.
President Ma furthermore stated that Taiwan and the United States in March 2013 resumed negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), which has played a significant role in the development of bilateral trade and investment relations. The president hopes the two sides will continue to engage in dialogue via the TIFA platform in the future, which could pave the way for the signing of a bilateral investment agreement to create even closer economic and trade relations between the two countries.
President Ma then addressed the closely followed topic of Taiwan's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other regional economic integration mechanisms. He emphasized that Taiwan's annual trade with the 12 TPP members amounts to nearly US$200 billion, accounting for 35% of Taiwan's overall external trade. This highlights the importance of the TPP to the development of trade for Taiwan. The president also expressed hope that the US administration will get fast track authorization from Congress to complete multilateral trade negotiations. Once various conditions are right, Taiwan hopes to have the opportunity to participate in the TPP negotiations, he added.
The president also discussed cross-strait relations, saying that US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel last month stated that the development of Taiwan-US relations over the past several years has been extremely constructive, that this is closely related to progress in cross-strait relations, and that the United States would also like to see the continued development of cross-strait relations. This, President Ma said, indicates that an improvement in Taiwan's relations with mainland China is a positive development for the United States.
President Ma feels that a major reason for the successful progress of cross-strait relations is that both sides simultaneously returned to the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means.
President Ma also mentioned that in addition to the ROC government seeking to strengthen cross-strait relations in order to create peace in the Taiwan Strait, in August 2012 he also announced the East China Sea Peace Initiative, which stresses that "although sovereignty over national territory cannot be compromised, natural resources can be shared." This framework urges related parties to use peaceful measures to resolve disputes in the East China Sea. The president cited the example of the signing of a fisheries agreement between the ROC and Japan in 2013, thereby resolving a 40-year fishing dispute. In addition, subsequent to the Guang Da Xing No. 28 incident, in which personnel on a Philippine Coast Guard vessel fired at a Taiwanese fishing boat, killing a fisherman and damaging the boat, the governments of the two nations held talks and reached a consensus to refrain from using force in law enforcement actions, to notify each other prior to such actions, and promptly release detained fishing vessels and crews in case of arrest. This, the president said, highlights the efforts and contributions by the ROC in promoting regional peace.
Lastly, President Ma emphasized that the ROC government in the future will continue to serve as a "peacemaker" in the international arena, maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, and South China Sea. At the same time, it will be a provider of humanitarian aid, helping to maintain regional stability and create co-prosperity.
Among those meeting with the president were former US Deputy Secretary of State and President of Armitage International Richard L. Armitage; former US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and President and CEO of the Project 2049 Institute Randall Schriver; East-West Center in Washington, D. C. Director Satu Prakash Limaye; Reports and Political Affairs Officer at the US Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Jennifer K. Hong; and Director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center for Strategic & International Studies Mireille Rapp Hooper.