Ma praises robust Taiwan-US relations

2015/07/02

President Ma Ying-jeou said June 30 that the government is committed to enhancing Taiwan-U.S. relations while promoting regional peace and stability.

“The honest, low-key, principled and surprise-free approach adopted by the government since I took office in May 2008 helped restore high-level mutual trust between Taipei and Washington,” Ma said.

This has paid handsome dividends, Ma said, describing the U.S. as a firm security partner of the country as illustrated by the Taiwan Relations Act and US$18.3 billion in arms sales since 2008.

“Taiwan is also gaining more support in Congress,” Ma said. “The House and Senate Armed Services Committees both passed initiatives in May calling for increased bilateral military exchanges, including inviting Taiwan to take part in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise and Red Flag training exercises.”

Ma made the remarks while receiving at the Presidential Office in Taipei City Judith Singer, senior vice provost for Faculty Development of Harvard University, Margot Gill, administrative dean of Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Peter Marsden, dean of Social Science, and Mark Elliott, director of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies.

According to the president, the two sides have made significant progress in strengthening trade ties, citing the resumption of negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in March 2013 after a five-year hiatus. “As of the end of April, Taiwan is the U.S.’s 10th largest trading partner, while the U.S. is Taiwan’s second largest after mainland China,” he said.

Ma added that the inclusion of Taiwan in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program in 2013 is yet another sign of the strong partnership Taipei and Washington share.

Taiwan-U.S. ties have improved in tandem with cross-strait relations, the president said. “Taiwan and mainland China have concluded 21 agreements in the past seven years, with visitors from the other side making more than 14 million trips to Taiwan during the period.

“All of these developments contributed to the most stable and peaceful state of Taipei-Beijing relations in 66 years.”

This healthy state of affairs has provided fresh impetus for Taiwan to play its part as a responsible stakeholder and valuable member of the international community, the president said.

“Taiwan will continue promoting regional peace through the principles outlined in my East and South China Sea Peace Initiatives proposed in August 2012 and last May, respectively,” he said, adding that in this way, all countries and territories can resolve disputes and develop resources.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=232103&ctNode=413)