The president also noted that since taking office in 2008 he has worked hard to improve the relationship between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. For the past eight years, Taiwan and mainland China transformed an erstwhile killing field into a peace boulevard, and have signed 23 agreements. The leaders from both sides also met in Singapore on November 7 of last year, and held consultations about consolidating peace in the Taiwan Strait.
President Ma then mentioned that after he unveiled the East China Sea Peace Initiative in 2012, Taiwan and Japan signed a fisheries agreement, successfully reducing maritime conflict between the two countries. Based on the success of our East China Sea Peace Initiative, he also proposed the South China Sea Peace Initiative last year in the hope that all parties concerned will replace antagonism with dialogue and negotiation, resolve disputes by peaceful means, and ensure freedom of navigation and overflight.
President Ma further stated that after numerous rounds of negotiations, the ROC and the Philippines signed the Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters last year, the first concrete achievement of the South China Sea Peace Initiative. The agreement establishes the following three principles: avoiding the use of violence or unnecessary force in maritime law enforcement actions; establishment of a mutual notification system for Taiwan and the Philippines for law enforcement actions against each other's fishing vessels; and prompt release of detained fishing vessels and arrested crew members. We hope that agreement will ease the fisheries disputes that have occurred between the two countries in their overlapping exclusive economic zones over the past few decades, and will effectively safeguard the lives and property of Taiwan's fishermen.
【Source: Office of the President】