President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of February 16 with US Congressman James Sensenbrenner, Chairman Emeritus of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The president briefed the visitors on security, trade and economic cooperation between Taiwan and the US, as well as our efforts and achievements in maintaining regional peace.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Congressmen Sensenbrenner and Bruce Westerman are important friends of Taiwan in the US Congress. Congressman Sensenbrenner, a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, has been serving in the US House of Representatives since 1979, and that same year also voted to pass the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) in the US Congress. For many years, Congressman Sensenbrenner has undertaken substantive action to support the ROC such as co-sponsoring resolutions and co-signing letters, highlighting our close friendship. Congressman Westerman was elected for the first time last year and joined the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, taking pragmatic action to display his support for the ROC. Both congressmen have continued to support expanded space for ROC participation in the international community, co-sponsoring House Resolution 1853 of the 114th Congress that supports observer status for Taiwan in the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL). On November 2 of last year the House overwhelmingly passed that resolution, with 392 votes in favor and zero opposed. The president expressed gratitude for this strong show of friendship.
President Ma then mentioned ROC-US cooperation in security, trade, and economy, stating that since taking office in 2008 he has embraced a "low key, no surprises" approach to promoting development in a wide range of substantive relations between the two countries. The ROC government's continued efforts over the past seven years have significantly enhanced the breadth and depth of bilateral cooperation in many areas. Today, said the president, ROC-US relations are better than they have ever been since the TRA was enacted 37 years ago. President Ma remarked that the US government has never stopped fulfilling its security commitment to Taiwan, continuing to implement the TRA and the Six Assurances. Over the past seven years, the president noted, the US has thus sold the ROC over US$20.1 billion worth of arms, the highest amount in the past two decades, and twice what was sold during his predecessor's administration. He said that he is deeply moved by these close ties. The president then stated that trade and economic relations between the two countries have been flourishing. Taiwan last year vaulted past India and Saudi Arabia to become the 10th largest trading partner of the US, while the US has surpassed Japan to once again become Taiwan's second largest trading partner.
President Ma pointed out that after resuming Taiwan-US negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, the two sides continue to engage in close and ample communication on bilateral trade and economic issues. More recently, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was signed by member countries on February 4 of this year, and will become effective after being ratified by those countries. Because TPP members absorb 37% of Taiwan's external exports, the president then called on the US to continue to take substantive measures to actively help Taiwan be included in second-round TPP negotiations, further enhancing bilateral trade and economic relations.
President Ma stated that Taiwan's basic principle in promoting cross-strait policy is to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait under the framework of the ROC Constitution. His administration also promotes the 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 many positive results have been seen, such as the signing of 23 agreements between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and mainland China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. Since the APEC meetings in October of 2013, the ministers in charge of cross-strait affairs from both sides of the strait have held seven formal meetings where both sides used their official titles. This indicates that Taiwan and mainland China have already institutionalized cross-strait communication channels, and that cross-strait relations are more stable and peaceful than they have ever been in the 67 years that the two sides have been under separate rule.
The president mentioned that thanks to a foundation of sufficient mutual trust, on November 7 of last year he met with mainland Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Singapore as equals and with dignity. The two leaders exchanged views on consolidating peace between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, ensuring peaceful development of cross-strait relations under the 1992 Consensus. The international community closely followed and applauded the cross-strait leaders meeting, said President Ma. The US government issued a statement, saying that "The United States welcomes the meeting between leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait…, and we encourage further progress by both sides toward building ties, reducing tensions, and promoting stability on the basis of dignity and respect."
Commenting on the ROC's efforts and achievements in maintaining regional peace, the president remarked that we continue to play the role of peacemaker. Tension in the East China Sea had been escalating in 2012, and President Ma then unveiled the East China Sea Peace Initiative on August 5 of that same year, based on the idea that although sovereignty over national territory can't be compromised, natural resources can be shared. That initiative calls on all parties to replace confrontation with dialogue, and resolve disputes in the East China Sea through peaceful means. Eight months later, Taiwan and Japan signed a fisheries agreement, resolving a 40-year fisheries dispute between the two sides and demonstrating that the East China Sea Peace Initiative is feasible and pragmatic. The ROC embraced the same concept in introducing the South China Sea Peace Initiative last May, calling on all parties concerned to reduce tensions, increase dialogue, abide by international law, uphold the freedom of navigation and overflight, and settle disputes peacefully. The Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters signed in last November by the ROC and the Philippines provides a concrete example of how the South China Sea Peace Initiative can be put into practice. President Ma mentioned that he personally went to Taiping Island (also known as Itu Aba) in the Nansha (Spratly) Islands to visit personnel stationed there and unveiled the South China Sea Peace Initiative Roadmap, thus clarifying the island's legal status and proclaiming the ROC's sovereignty. He also introduced peaceful uses for Taiping Island—an island for "peace and rescue operations, as well as an ecologically friendly and low-carbon island." The president then expressed hope that the vision of transforming the South China Sea into a sea of reconciliation and cooperation will be realized.
The visitors were accompanied to the Presidential Office by American Institute in Taiwan Taipei Office Director Kin W. Moy and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruce J. D. Linghu (令狐榮達) to meet with President Ma.