The president also discussed cross-strait relations, saying that over the past six years the ROC government has sought to maintain the development of cross-strait relations of various types based on the foundation of the "1992 Consensus," whereby each side acknowledges the existence of "one China" but maintains its own interpretation of what that means. The situation in the Taiwan Strait has thus seen changes in recent years. President Ma stressed that the government's efforts to strengthen cross-strait relations has turned the relationship from a "vicious cycle" into a "virtuous cycle." The progress in peace and stability in cross-strait relations has also enabled the United States to interact peacefully with both sides of the Taiwan Strait at the same time. The president is also confident that in the future the two sides will continue to work together to forge peace and security in the Taiwan Strait on the basis on equality and reciprocity.
The president then stated that in the international arena, the ROC government in recent years has actively sought to play the roles of regional peacemaker and provider of humanitarian aid. He pointed out that he unveiled his East China Sea Peace Initiative in August of 2012, and in April of 2013 the ROC and Japan signed a fisheries agreement in accordance with the spirit of that initiative. That agreement peacefully resolved a fishing dispute that had lasted for 40 years. The ROC also sought to extend the concepts embodied in that initiative to the South China Sea by holding fishing negotiations with the Philippines. As a result, the two sides reached a consensus on the enforcement of law at sea in overlapping exclusive economic zones, agreeing to refrain from using force in law enforcement actions, to notify each other prior to such actions, and promptly release detained fishing vessels and crews in case of arrest, thus maintaining peace in the region.
【Source: Office of the President】