Taipei-Tokyo ties not affected by cross-strait detente: president

Ma made the remarks during a meeting at the Presidential Office with a group of visiting Japanese diet members led by Tetsurou Yano.

He assured his Japanese visitors that the long-term friendship between Taiwan and Japan will not be eroded by improved links between Taiwan and China, because warming Taiwan-China relations will help forge peace and prosperity in the strait, which is in Japan’s best interests.

Noting that he is fully aware that some pro-Taiwan Japanese diet members are deeply concerned that improvements in cross-strait links might undermine Taipei-Tokyo ties, Ma said that “the aim of pursuing cross-strait peace is to build peace and prosperity in the region, and a positive development in this regard will be beneficial to East Asia, and certainly Japan.”

Ma said he is upbeat about the prospects of Taiwan-Japan relations, as current Japanese Premier Yasuo Fukuda and then Foreign Minister Taro Aso seemed to also endorsed this viewpoint during a meeting in 2006 when he visited Japan. Fukuda was a diet member at that time.

Taiwan also welcomes improving China-Japan ties, since cross-strait peace and prosperity is a common desire among all East Asian countries, and Taiwan is poised to move in this direction, he said.

Over the past half century, Japan has had to carefully weigh the leverage between Taiwan and China within a confined space, he pointed out. However, he went on, this should be eased as Taiwan-China relations continue to improve.

The United States, which has a huge stake in the region, has found itself in a similar position, with President George W. Bush having expressed pleasure recently over the improved cross-strait ties, he said.

Ma also highly praised the efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council to improve Taiwan’s ties with China, the United States and Japan since he took office May 20.

Commenting on a collision that took place last month between a Taiwanese recreational fishing boat and a Japanese coast guard patrol ship near the disputed Tiaoyutai Islands northeast of Taiwan, the president said he supported at the time a peaceful and rational resolution to the dispute.

“My viewpoint and stance in this regard fully coincided with that of Prime Minister Fukuda,” he noted.

“Those who see me as anti-Japanese might not have read my three books that delve into the Tiaoyutai issue,” he argued, adding that all the resolutions he suggests in his books are peaceful and rational.

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