President Ma Ying-jeou met on June 24 with US-Taiwan Business Council Chairman Paul D. Wolfowitz and urged the United States to sell Taiwan F-16C/D fighter jets. He said that this would help the ROC ensure its national security and maintain regional peace at the same time that it is working to improve cross-strait relations.
The president stated that the relationship between Taiwan and the United States is crucial to the ROC's existence and development. Even though the two countries do not maintain formal diplomatic ties, they have consistently maintained close cooperation in the area of security, he said. For instance, in October 2008 and January 2010, US President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama approved arms sales to Taiwan, helping to bring Taiwan's military hardware up to date.
President Ma stressed that Taiwan's arms purchases are made in order to replace aging equipment, acquire defensive arms, and buy hardware that it is unable to produce on its own. Even though Taiwan has been able to acquire several arms packages over the past few years, its attempts to purchase F-16C/D fighter jets have not gone smoothly. The United States has been unwilling to accept a letter of request for the aircraft from Taiwan, and has even hoped that Taiwan would not submit such a request. Taiwan understands the sensitive nature of this request, the president said, but added that the ROC's fleet of F-5 fighter jets is aging and the F-16C/D fighter jets constitute an indispensable defensive weapon. This marks the 19th time that he has publicly urged the United States to sell the F-16C/D fighter jets to Taiwan, and he reiterated his hope to see a breakthrough on this issue soon.
President Ma furthermore stated that since taking office in May 2008 he has sought to improve cross-strait relations, aiming for reconciliation and negotiation to replace conflict and confrontation. Taiwan and mainland China have signed 15 agreements, including the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, thus bringing incipient signs of peace to the Taiwan Strait. This development is significant for the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and is a positive development for the region as a whole, he said. In discussing national security, the president reiterated what he calls the three lines of defense for Taiwan, namely the institutionalization of cross-strait rapprochement, an increased contribution by Taiwan to international development, and the aligning of defense with diplomacy .
President Ma remarked that Taiwan was under a state of martial law for 38 of the past 60 years. The tension between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the threat of war long prevented Taiwan from fully implementing democracy. It was not until just over two decades ago, after martial law was lifted, that cross-strait relations began to improve, setting the stage for Taiwan's democracy to progress to its current stage. These facts, the president said, show that true democracy cannot be implemented without national security. He expressed his desire that Mr. Wolfowitz can further his understanding of Taiwan on this visit, and called for continued progress in relations between Taiwan and the United States.
The president also mentioned that the US-Taiwan Business Council, which was established in 1976 , has become quite an important channel for communication between the two sides. President Ma noted that Mr. Wolfowitz has a deep understanding of Taiwan, and has repeatedly stated that Taiwan constitutes an opportunity, not a problem. On behalf of the government, the president expressed his deepest appreciation to Mr. Wolfowitz for his concern for Taiwan.
Mr. Wolfowitz is in Taiwan to attend a symposium titled A Spectacular Century: The Republic of China Centennial Democracy Forums . He was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ssu-Tsun Shen (沈斯淳) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Chih-kung Liu (劉志攻).
【Source: Office of the President】