Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
When asked by a Japanese reporter which channel would be used to communicate with China, Ma said that the technical details could be worked out later. The point, he said, was that leaders from both sides are willing to act.
"It is important that leaders of both sides are willing to improve the relationship," Ma said.
PHOTO: CNA
Ma said, however, that he has no plans to visit China.
He also said that although Koo Chen-fu (
Ma said he was confident that the SEF and ARATS would continue to function as the intermediary bodies for cross-strait exchanges.
Asked whether he supported the idea of convening a meeting of the major powers on the cross-strait issue, similar to the six-party talks on North Korea, Ma said it would be more appropriate for the two sides to solve their problems themselves. However, he said he would welcome any advice offered by foreign countries.
agreements
Ma said that the SEF and ARATS had conducted 24 rounds of cross-strait negotiations before 2000 and that four agreements were reached during the first Koo-Wang meeting in Singapore in April 1993. The four agreements indicate that both sides are willing and able to resolve their problems, he said.
defense
Ma said upon his arrival in Japan on Wednesday that, if elected, he would increase Taiwan's military budget to 3 percent of the country's GDP.
"This would be to show our resolve to defend ourselves," Ma said.
Given this, a journalist asked why the KMT has been at loggerheads with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) over defense spending.
Ma answered that although the US government had approved the sale of a package of arms, including submarines, Patriot missiles and anti-submarine aircraft, to Taiwan in 2001, the DPP administration had not submitted a budget bill for the procurement until three years later, in June 2004.
Noting that that proposal was rejected at one point by the legislature on the grounds that details of the proposal were too sketchy and prices were about twice as high as the fair market value, Ma said the purchase of Patriot missiles was later nixed by the Taiwanese public in a nationwide referendum in 2004 initiated by the DPP administration.
He said the purchase of P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft had already been passed by the legislature and the purchase of submarines was still under assessment.
Ma, who was confronted by protesters on Thursday angered by Taiwan's claim to the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (
The Diaoyutais, a group of uninhabited islands northwest of Taiwan that are controlled by Japan, are also claimed by China.
Ma was to return from this three-day visit to Japan later yesterday.
hsieh says no
In Taichung, Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday he would not visit China if elected next year, a Central News Agency (CNA) report said.
Hsieh said he learned from his visit to China in 1993 that the media were not allowed unrestricted access to his activities.
"I don't think I will visit China as the media are not allowed to cover my activities throughout the journey, which would make it difficult for me to explain my whereabouts, even if just for an hour," Hsieh said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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