As for cross-strait relations, President Ma stated that in the past, the Taiwan Strait was always a potential flash point for conflict in East Asia. Since he took office in 2008, however, the ROC government has consistently sought, under the framework of the ROC Constitution, to maintain the status quo of "no unification, no independence, and no use of force" in the Taiwan Strait, and to promote 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. As a result, he said, over the past 66 years, cross-strait relations have never been more peaceful and stable. And since the three current candidates to become the ROC's next president all advocate maintaining the status quo, we can sense that maintaining the status quo is what the public really needs, he said.
Commenting on regional peace, President Ma noted that Taiwan and Japan signed a fisheries agreement two years ago that effectively put an end to a 40-year old bilateral fisheries dispute. In August of last year US Secretary of State Kerry publicly stated that this agreement was a model for promoting regional stability, and that the overriding principles of the East China Sea Peace Initiative could be applied in waters throughout Asia. The president then mentioned that he recently introduced the South China Sea Peace Initiative with the hope of extending the successful experiences in the East China Sea to the South China Sea.
【Source: Office of the President】