President Ma Ying-jeou spoke about his proposal for a “South China Sea Peace Initiative” and his views on the future of cross-strait relations in a video-conference sponsored by Stanford University.
During Wednesday’s video-conference, Ma fielded questions from Stanford Professor Thomas Fingar about his proposal to ease tensions in the South China Sea. Ma said that while Taiwan’s assertion of sovereignty over disputed areas of the sea is not up for negotiation, resources can be shared.
Ma said that this is a lesson Taiwan has learned since adopting a similar approach towards disputed areas of the East China Sea. Ma said that while resolving disputes in the South China Sea will be much more difficult, his administration has already come up with a plan.
"In addition to the broad and general ideas of peace, of lowering down tension and stopping the escalation of unilateral action, we also have a roadmap, which we will announce in the near future," said Ma. "I have to admit, the South China Sea situation is much more complicated. There are more claims, and the sea area is much larger, and so we need to be more patient."
Asked about the Taiwanese public’s views on cross-strait ties, Ma said that democratization in China would narrow the psychological gap between the two sides.
"If we can do that and if Mainland China could do that, I’m sure the psychological distance between Mainland China and Taiwan will be greatly shortened," said Ma. "I cannot promise that people there will support unification, but at least the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait can then think on an equal basis."
However, Ma said that for the moment, the status quo of neither independence nor unification remains the best scenario. He said that is something which Taiwan’s ruling and opposition parties agree on.