President Ma Ying-jeou urged the United States to seriously consider selling F-16C/D fighter jets to the ROC and upgrading the nation's current F-16A/B fighter jets in order to enhance Taiwan's defensive capabilities.
The president made the remarks on August 24 when meeting with a delegation of scholars from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) who focus on East Asia security issues.
President Ma noted that he had held a video conference with the CSIS in May, during which he had the opportunity for face-to-face discussions with scholars and experts located in Washington, D.C., New York, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta. This was an extremely meaningful event, he said, commenting that it helped to boost communication and understanding between Taiwan and the United States.
The president remarked that he has been in office for over three years and during this period the government has promoted cross-strait peace under the framework of the ROC Constitution. His administration has stuck by its commitment to the policy of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" as a means of maintaining the status quo, and embraced the "1992 Consensus" whereby the two sides agree to the "one China, respective interpretations" principle. The significant improvement in cross-strait relations proves that the direction of the government's policies has been correct and effective, he said. To date, the heads of semi-official bodies from each side charged with negotiating cross-strait affairs have met six times and reached 15 agreements. The seventh meeting of the two is currently being planned, and it is hoped that agreements will be reached on investment guarantees and nuclear safety issues, the president said.
President Ma commented that US Vice President Joe Biden recently visited mainland China, and prior to the trip, the United States indicated to Taiwan that Vice President Biden would not be exchanging opinions with his mainland Chinese counterparts on the issue of arms sales to Taiwan. President Ma stated that this demonstrates the close state of relations between Taiwan and the United States and the extremely smooth avenues of communication between the two.
The president remarked that the ROC has repeatedly indicated its desire to purchase F-16C/D fighter jets from the United States, and two years ago it also expressed the need to upgrade Taiwan's existing F-16A/B fighter jets. These two purchases are aimed at retiring Taiwan’s aging F-5E fighter jets, and at enhancing the performance of its fleet. The president said he hopes that the US administration will agree to the deals.
Turning to the topic of relations between Taiwan and the United States, President Ma stated that Taiwan on July 1 began requiring people applying for passports for the first time to do so in person, and that this system is running smoothly. Consequently, he hopes that the United States will include Taiwan in its Visa Waiver Program as soon as possible. He also expressed his desire to see concrete progress in negotiations under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, and called for a Taiwan-US extradition agreement.
President Ma stated that he is pleased to see the resumption of mutual trust between the two sides at the highest levels over the past three years, since cooperation between the two in security as well as trade and economic affairs has a major impact on Taiwan's development and survival. At the same time, he pointed out that this year marks the ROC's centenary, and the American Institute in Taiwan is holding a special "Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the United States" exhibit and other commemorative activities. This is the best example of the historical relationship between the two countries and shows the deep friendship between the ROC and the United States, he said.
The delegation included Dennis Blair (former US Director of National Intelligence and retired Navy admiral), Bonnie Glaser (Senior Fellow with the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies), Alan Romberg (Director of the East Asia program at the Stimson Center), and a number of experts and scholars who have long focused on security issues in East Asia. The group was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by William A. Stanton (Director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan) and Deputy Foreign Minister Lyushun Shen (沈呂巡) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真).
【Source: Office of the President】