President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of September 3 with United States Congressman Steve King. In addition to extending a cordial welcome to Congressman King on his visit to the ROC to attend events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the ROC's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the president also explained to the congressman the efforts and achievements of the ROC government in promoting relations between the two countries and instituting a volunteer military system.
In remarks, the president stated that Congressman King is a senior member of the House Committee on Agriculture and also a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus. He has signed petitions in support of Taiwan-related resolutions. For instance, in 2011 and 2012 he co-signed letters to President Barack Obama urging him to sell F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan. In March of last year, he signed his name supporting House Resolution 494–Affirming the importance of the Taiwan Relations Act. This year, he supported amendments friendly to the ROC that would invite Taiwan to participate in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, the president said.
President Ma commented that Congressman King represents the State of Iowa, which is a major producer of agricultural products in the United States, with the highest output of corn in America and the second highest output of soybeans. Iowa is also among the leaders in the production of beef, pork, and mutton. The 2015 Republic of China Agriculture Trade Goodwill Mission to the United States will visit Iowa later this month, and the president expressed hope that the two countries will continue to strengthen their bilateral economic and trade relationship via the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement platform.
The president stated that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the ROC's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan and Taiwan's retrocession. That eight-year War of Resistance was the most geographically extensive battle against foreign aggression in Chinese history, with the highest number of casualties, and the most far-reaching repercussions. ROC forces engaged Japanese troops in many major battles. Almost 3.22 million ROC troops, including 268 commanding officers, lost their lives, along with more than 20 million civilians. During that war, the United States decided to provide 100 P-40 warplanes to help the ROC. The Flying Tigers, led by US General Claire Lee Chennault, also came to the ROC's aid and had shot down at least 300 Japanese planes less than one year after they arrived. They thus allowed the ROC's severely crippled air force to gradually regain its fighting capabilities.
Commenting on ROC-US relations, the president stated that over the past seven years there have been many positive developments in bilateral cooperation in economics and trade, security, as well as other areas. Mutual ROC-US trust has been restored at the highest levels of government, and over the past 36 years, bilateral relations have never been better. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and current Secretary of State John Kerry have commented on bilateral relations in a positive light, saying that Taiwan is "an important security and economic partner" of the United States. In May of this year Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton, in an address at the Brookings Institution, also stressed how good Taiwan-US relations are and referred to Taiwan as a vital partner of the United States in East Asia.
As for trade and economic relations, President Ma noted that Taiwan last year vaulted past India and Saudi Arabia to become the 10th largest trading partner of the United States, while the United States has outpaced Japan to become Taiwan's second largest trading partner. Many US senior officials have already publicly welcomed Taiwan's entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the United States, Mr. Daniel Russel, stated that the US will give Taiwan serious consideration as a candidate for TPP membership. President Ma remarked that he was happy to see this positive development and also called for the ROC's participation in the second round of the TPP's multilateral trade negotiations.
In terms of military cooperation, over the past seven years the United States has sold the ROC over US$18.3 billion worth of arms, which is the highest amount in the past two decades. The United States last year also agreed to sell the ROC four Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates. As to whether the ROC's defense budget will reach 3% of GDP, the president said that arms procurement depends on various circumstances, and that these purchases won't necessarily be included in annual budgets. So long as the United States agrees to sell Taiwan arms, the government will raise the needed funding, he said, further remarking that this avoids wasting portions of the annual budget.
Discussing the ROC's shift to a volunteer military system, President Ma explained to Congressman King that the government is promoting a "volunteer military system," which is not the same as an "all-volunteer" military. The ROC Constitution, he said, stipulates that "The people shall have the duty of performing military service in accordance with law." After shifting to a "voluntary army system," conscripts will only need to undergo four months of military training, after which they will become reservists. The government's push in promoting a voluntary army has already seen some notable achievements thanks to the joint efforts of a number of government agencies, he said. The president pointed out that last year, the government originally sought to recruit 10,500 individuals, but over 30,000 people registered, and ultimately it accepted over 15,000 into the service, well exceeding its original target. The president also stated that the ROC's introduction of a volunteer military system will better enhance combat capabilities, rationalize manpower utilization, and lower social costs in comparison to an "all-volunteer" system. "We are extremely confident that our volunteer army system will be a success," the president said.