The TRA has served to anchor peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for the past three decades and made Taiwan an indispensable link for foreign investments in the Asian region, Ma said in a speech delivered at the opening of an international conference on the TRA and its prospects on its 30th anniversary.

"Its very existence changed the evolutionary course of cross-strait development by stabilizing the trilateral relationship among Taiwan, the U.S. and mainland China," he said.

Calling the act as the "second best choice" in an imperfect world, the president said the TRA has served to accommodate Taiwan's needs by keeping all aspects of U.S.-Taiwan relations intact despite Washington's switching of diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China (ROC) to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1979.

Ma pointed out the TRA has the identical initial of the nation's Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA), enabling the triangular U.S.-Taiwan-China relations to progress forward on the right track smoothly at a rapid pace.

"This resilience, or dynamic status quo, is of crucial importance for peace and stability for East Asia," Ma said.

Enacted by the U.S. Congress April 10, 1979, the TRA has been the sole legal document on the U.S. side governing bilateral relations.

The act requires the U.S. to guarantee defensive arms sales to Taiwan and to maintain the capacity of the U.S. to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan.

Ma said that his administration's continuous efforts to improve relations with Beijing since last May have not only put an end to bilateral diplomatic belligerency in favor of substantive economic cooperation, but also demonstrated to the world that Taiwan wants to be a responsible peacemaker instead of troublemaker in the region.

With the resilience of the TRA and the ever-warming relations with China, especially on the economic front, Ma said this new equilibrium will create a "win-win-win" situation for the U.S., Taiwan, and China to solve complex issues through cooperation.

As part of the activities marking the 30th anniversary of the passage of the TRA, the conference was held by the National Policy Foundation and the Cross-Strait Interflow Prospect Foundation.

Serving U.S. Interests

The U.S. domestic law still serves the interests of the United States in Taiwan, despite the many political, economic, and strategic changes that have occurred, said Douglas Paal, former director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

"The instrument of the TRA, accompanied by confidence in the wisdom of the people of Taiwan expressed through ballot box democracy, is a source of reassurance for both America and Taiwan going forward," he added.

According to Paal, U.S. calculations have changed enormously since 1979, because politically, the U.S. sense of Taiwan as a plucky, stalwart outpost of freedom against tyranny has eroded, while economically, China's trade with Taiwan and the U.S. has grown significantly from 1979 levels.He said America still has important strategic interests in Taiwan because how China's policy toward Taiwan evolves can be a strategic signal as to how China wants to interact with America and the world.

Also, how Beijing leaders manage the views in China that "reunification" with the island would be an important component of Beijing's new maritime assertiveness and promote better relations with Taipei can be indicators of China's strategic ambitions, according to Paal.

More int'l space

Given the warming relations between Taiwan and China, Beijing should take further steps to give Taiwan more space in the international community, according to Winston Lord, former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Lord contended that current cross-Taiwan Strait relations are the most steady and promising -- if not prosperous -- in 60 years, but "there is never room for complacency."

The most immediate issue regarding future moves by Taipei and Beijing, he said, is giving more international space for Taiwan.

While the Chinese have loosened up somewhat and seem to be entertaining flexibility on Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization, Beijing should move from "halting, limited steps to a more forthcoming posture, there and elsewhere, consistent with Taiwan's dignity and stature," Lord said.

"This can be reconciled with Beijing's principles if it has the will to do so, Lord said. "Progress on this issue is critical -- both on the merits of the case and to show Taiwan people that President Ma Ying-jeou's initiatives are bearing fruit."

On the issue of Taiwan's sovereignty, Lord said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait need to seek ways to continue obfuscating the problem, adding that China has shown some patience on the sovereignty issue -- perhaps in the belief that time is on its side.

There is a clear popular consensus in Taiwan that drawing closer to the PRC can only be envisioned if the mainland's political system becomes more open, pluralistic and free, observed Lord who now serves as the chairman emeritus of the International Rescue Committee.

But the future relationship between Taiwan and the PRC should be resolved between them "directly, peacefully and with the support of the people." he added.

No change of TRA needed

Bonnie Glaser, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, asserted that the TRA continued to be in Washington's interests.

She said the TRA does not need to be amended because it addresses U.S. policy interests, not outcomes, and its efficacy has not been affected substantially by shifting U.S.-China-Taiwan dynamics.

Alan Romberg, a distinguished fellow and director of the East Asia Program of the Henry L. Stimson Center, echoed Glaser's view, saying that the TRA has been interpreted and applied as a very useful statement of U.S. policy and a point of reference.

"The fact that the U.S. has maintained that policy through all these years regardless of many changes in the situation is a testament to its correctness from the perspective of American interests," he said.

Drew Thompson, director of China Studies and a senior fellow of the Nixon Center, contended that the TRA is unlikely to change in the future as it continues to serve its intended purpose to help maintain peace, security and stability in the Western Pacific.

"The ambiguity encapsulated in the TRA benefits Taiwan. Changing it would not improve Taiwan's condition, nor would it necessarily further the unique U.S.-Taiwan relationship," Thompson said.