ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said May 28 that he expects Taiwan and South Korea to boost bilateral ties by inking economic cooperation and investment protection deals, as well as a pact on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.
Ma made the remarks while receiving Cho Kyoung-tae, head of a South Korean national lawmakers’ association for enhancing friendly relations with Taiwan, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.
The president thanked Cho for promoting bilateral ties over the years, citing his role in organizing ROC Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng’s attendance at the inauguration of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in February
“South Korea is Taiwan’s sixth largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching US$26.92 billion in 2012, while Taiwan is its ninth,” Ma said. “We believe the two sides can conduct frequent exchanges in the future and create a win-win situation.”
According to Ma, Park has been supporting small and medium enterprises since she took office, a move that fits well with Taiwan given it boasts over 1.2 million SMEs accounting for 98 percent of the total number of companies nationwide.
Concerning tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Ma said as an important country in the East Asia region, Taiwan has paid close attention to regional developments and firmly supports the stances of South Korea, Japan and the U.S.
“We condemn North Korea’s act of heightening tensions by launching six missiles May 18 to May 20 and urge Pyongyang to address international concerns and maintain peace and stability in the region,” Ma said.
The president said Seoul and Tokyo inked pacts on fisheries and joint mineral exploration more than 40 years ago, while Taiwan and Japan signed an agreement April 10 on protecting respective fishing rights in waters near the Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea—a product of 16 negotiations in the last 17 years.
Through cooperative management of fishing grounds in the region, the deal implements the principles of safeguarding sovereignty and sharing resources as set out under the East China Sea peace initiative proposed by Ma in August 2012.
“The ROC is a peace-loving nation, and we believe the fisheries pact will substantially help us achieve the goal of promoting East China Sea into a region of peace and cooperation,” he added. (KML-JSM)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw