President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of April 23 with a delegation from the US National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). In addition to extending a warm welcome on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president also said he hopes that economic and trade cooperation between Taiwan and the United States will continue to grow.
In remarks, the president stated that since 2005 the NASS has passed resolutions supporting the signing of a free trade agreement between Taiwan and the United States and Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as observer status for Taiwan in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), all of which have been extremely helpful in the ROC's efforts to participate more fully in the international community.
The president pointed out that the ROC faces challenges in the diplomatic arena and encounters many hurdles in its efforts to participate in international organizations. For instance, over 10 international and domestic air routes operate in Taiwan airspace and the Taipei Flight Information Region annually provides services to 1.3 million flights. And yet Taiwan has not even been able to become an observer in the ICAO. Consequently, the government and people here are deeply appreciative of the support provided in this regard by the NASS, the president said.
The president stressed that he places great importance on relations between the ROC and the United States, and upon taking office in 2008 he immediately took steps to restore mutual trust at the highest levels of government. Over the past seven years, the two sides have maintained close interaction in the areas of security, economics, and trade, he said. In terms of military cooperation, the United States has sold the ROC over US$18.3 billion worth of arms since he took office, which is the highest amount in the past two decades. The United States last year also agreed to sell the ROC four Perry-class frigates. As for economics and trade, Taiwan last year surpassed India and Saudi Arabia to become the 10th largest trading partner of the United States, while the United States vaulted past Japan to again become Taiwan's second largest trading partner. The president added that Taiwan companies were active participants in the 2015 SelectUSA Investment Summit held in Washington, DC in March, with Taiwan having the second largest delegation of the countries attending the event. This highlights the close nature of economic and trade dealings between the two sides, he said.
The president then discussed Taiwan's interaction with mainland China and the United States. He said the government has actively sought to improve relations with both the United States and mainland China, and the United States is thus able to concurrently develop relations with Taiwan and mainland China, alleviating the need for the United States to choose between the two. US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel thus stated that the development of ROC-US relations in recent years has been extremely constructive, which is closely related to progress in cross-strait relations.
The president stated that since the beginning of this year, the legislatures of 16 American states, including South Carolina and Arkansas, have passed resolutions supporting the signing of a bilateral investment agreement and a free trade agreement between the United States and Taiwan, as well as Taiwan's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The president not only expressed his gratitude for these resolutions, but also his hopes for continued strengthening of interaction and cooperation between the two countries in a wide range of areas in the future.
The delegation included secretaries of state Mark Hammond from South Carolina, Paul Pate from Iowa, Mark Martin from Arkansas, John Merrill from Alabama, and Ed Murray from Wyoming. The delegation was led by NASS President Elaine Marshall, who is the secretary of state of North Carolina, and was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Jen-Chuan Kao (高振群) to meet with President Ma.