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Dismantling missiles pre-condition for peace accord: president

ROC Central News Agency

2008-06-05 17:34:51

    Tokyo, June 5 (CNA) China must first remove its missiles aimed at Taiwan if the two sides were to clinch a peace accord, a Japanese newspaper quoted Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou as saying Wednesday. "It is necessary for Taiwan and China to ink an agreement to perpetuate peace across the Taiwan Strait, but China must first dismantle its missiles targeting Taiwan," Ma said.

    Ma made the remarks during an exclusive interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun in Taipei.

    Taiwan supports Japan's and the United States' roles in developing an anti-missile defense system to help maintain peace in the region, and it also backs a Japan-U.S. security pact to serve that end, Ma said. "Stable relations between China and Japan are beneficial to Taiwan, while secure cross-Taiwan Strait ties are also good for Japan," Ma asserted.

    The best way to improve Taiwan-China relations is to shelve thorny political issues and focus on urgent economic matters in the initial stage, ahead of signing a peace accord, the president said.

    Ma urged the international community, including Japan, to back his efforts to improve Taiwan's relations with China.

    Ma also hailed a landmark visit to China in late May by ruling Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung, during which Wu met Communist Party of China General Secretary and Chinese President Hu Jintao on May 28 in Beijing.

    As Taiwan and China are to establish direct weekend cross-strait charter flights, open Taiwan wider to more Chinese tourists and allow a full convertibility of their currencies in July, the president said he is confident that two-way ties will improve and that daily cross-strait charter flight service will be put in place as projected by the end of this year.

    Ma said he will flexibly push for Taiwan's entry into world bodies, such as the World Health Organization, using any suitable name, and expressed his hope that the problem of Taiwan's representation in international organizations would be adequately resolved next year.

    Giving his best wishes to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Ma, however, revealed no plan to visit China.

    But the president extended an invitation to a business visit by Chen Yunlin -- new chairman of the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), who now serves as China's top negotiator with Taiwan.

(By Mike Chang and Flor Wang)

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