11/14日経『馬台湾総統とのインタビュー』記事について

日経の11/13 Asian Reviewに英文でのインタビューが載っていますのでそちらを紹介します。これを読むと、日本語版にはない「尖閣諸島(釣魚島:中国、釣魚台:台湾)」の領有権問題について3ケ国交渉をしたいと言ってるのが載っていません。本当に日本のマスコミはおかしい。元々日本の立場は「領土問題は存在せず」なので、馬総統が何を言っても相手にはされないでしょうけど。昨年4月の尖閣での漁業交渉で日本は譲歩し過ぎです。彼はハーバードの修論で「尖閣は台湾のもの」と論文を書いた手合いですから。でも、アメリカの見方は合っています。如何にオバマがダメかと言うことです。「アメリカはリバランス政策で諸国を纏め中国を非難しようとしているようには見えない」=「中国封じ込め政策は取ってない」ということですから。ソ連崩壊はアメリカのジョージケナンの言う封じ込め政策が功を奏したものです。アジアには冷戦構造がまだ残っているのです。中国と北朝鮮という共産主義国家が残っているのですから。確かに、中国も朝鮮半島も経済がガタガタなので崩壊するのでしょうけど、その後始末を日本がさせられるのは御免蒙りたい。朴槿恵大統領は日中韓の首脳会議を開きたいと言い出したようですが、日中首脳会談が開かれた焦りと、経済が立いかなくなりそうなので日本の救済をお願いしたいと思ってのことでしょうが、まるで幼稚園児です。会いたいのなら自分で二か国でも会うべき。母親(中国)がいないと会えないのですか?まあ1000年属国だったことはありますが。

November 13, 2014 10:00 pm JST

Taiwan’s president wants a more nuanced US approach to China

DEBBY WU, Nikkei staff writer

TAIPEI — Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said Thursday that while the island supports the U.S. rebalancing policy to maintain security in Asia, a more refined approach is necessary as many countries in the region have close economic ties with China.

Ma’s statement comes amid ongoing disputes between China and some of its neighbors regarding the sovereignty of islands in the East China Sea and South China Sea. His words also acknowledge that trade between China and the rest of Asia has expanded exponentially over the past few years. China is now Japan’s, South Korea’s, Taiwan’s and ASEAN’s largest trading partner.

“The U.S. has adopted a rebalancing policy in Asia to ensure regional peace and stability, and we support the overall direction,” Ma said in an exclusive interview with The Nikkei. “Yet Asia now differs significantly from 50, 60 years ago when the U.S. implemented a containment strategy.

“Now many Asian countries need U.S. assistance on security while they collaborate with China economically. A more nuanced approach is needed to enhance regional peace and prosperity.”

Ma was answering a question about what role Washington can play in helping to safeguard security in the Asia-Pacific region.

Beijing-Tokyo tensions were slightly diffused earlier this month when the two governments agreed to disagree on their respective claims on the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China, in the East China Sea. The compromise led to the first meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe since the two leaders took office. They met Monday in Beijing, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

During the interview, Ma voiced his approval of the Beijing-Tokyo reconciliation and said Taiwan wants to be included in future talks concerning the island row.

“Regarding the East China Sea, we hope Taiwan, Japan and Mainland China can engage in trilateral negotiations when the time is right,” Ma said. Taiwan also claims the disputed islets, which it calls the Tiaoyutai Islands.

He said that while the situation in the South China Sea is more complicated — a possible reference to a bigger number of claimants involved — “we should all put aside sovereignty disputes and instead devote ourselves to developing and sharing resources together.”

Ma said Taiwan and China during the APEC forum reaffirmed their wish for their bilateral relations to develop peacefully, although he said the time is not right for a peace accord between the two sides.

“A peace accord involves many deep-seated issues, and (Taiwanese) people have not been able to reach a consensus,” Ma said. “This is not the right time for the two sides to discuss a peace accord, but this does not affect our direction of pursuing peaceful development and a win-win situation, and we are continuing further down this path.”

Ma said he hopes the two sides will be able to wrap up two trade pacts that further liberalize the trade of goods and services across the Taiwan Strait before he completes his second term, in 2016.

Beijing claims Taiwan as a part of China and has said it would not exclude the use of force to annex the island. Taiwan in 1949 split from China amid a civil war. Since Ma took office in 2008, he has taken aggressive measures, including signing 21 agreements, ranging from trade to judicial collaboration, to improve ties with Beijing, reduce tensions and prop up Taiwan’s economy.

Ma’s detractors see an ulterior motive. They charge that the president’s China-friendly policies have only undermined Taiwan’s sovereignty and allow for significant Chinese influence over the island. Further, they say, his policies have not helped significantly boost the island’s economy. They can point to gross domestic product growth, which remains sluggish, to bolster their claims.

Over the past few months, Ma’s and Xi’s relationship has deteriorated a bit. One sign of this was Beijing’s refusal to have Xi and Ma meet during the APEC forum. Xi might have feared that giving Ma such a stage would demonstrate Taiwanese sovereignty.

In late March, Ma’s approval rating and China platform both suffered a major setback when a group of students stormed and occupied Taiwan’s legislature building. They did so to protest the Nationalist Party’s attempt to expedite the ratification of a service trade deal with China — one of the pacts Ma mentioned in the interview.

Recently, Taipei and Beijing have accused each other of espionage. Xi’s reiteration in late September that China continues to seek unification with Taiwan further irked Taiwanese, who at month’s end will vote in key mayoral elections. The balloting is being looked at as a referendum on Ma’s China policies.

 

November 13, 2014 10:00 pm JST

Taiwan’s President Ma: Happy to meet China’s President Xi when the time is right

TAIPEI — Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou spoke exclusively to the Nikkei Asian Review on Thursday, giving his views on issues including this year’s APEC summit which he was unable to attend due to China’s objection over Taiwan’s complicated relationship with the mainland and geopolitical dynamics between Washington and Beijing. Excerpts:

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou

Q: What do you take from this year’s APEC summit?

A: The U.S. and the Communist Party of China appeared to have formulated a new model for interaction. They have reached firm understandings on military matters, trade issues and carbon cuts, which are basically beneficial to the whole world. Their agreement to expand the [World Trade Organization’s] Information Technology Agreement to lift tariffs on more products is especially good news for Taiwan, as our economy is heavily reliant on the IT industry.

We believe that the four-point consensus Japan and China have reached will help ease tensions in East Asia. We still stand by our past position that the Diaoyutai Islands [Taiwan’s name for the Senkaku Islands] belong to Taiwan.

President Barack Obama also mentioned during the summit that the U.S. is happy to see relations between the two sides across the Taiwan Strait improve, whilst it does not support Taiwan’s independence.

Q: If you still wish to hold talks with President Xi, which issues would you discuss?

A: Over the past six years, Taiwan and the mainland have enhanced ties. We have signed 21 agreements, bilateral trade has reached $160 billion annually, and more than 8 million people travel between the two countries each year. Under such circumstances, it is only natural for the two leaders to meet to push bilateral ties forward. Yet the mainland still has concerns, and my hope to attend the APEC summit and meet Xi could not be achieved this time. Our consistent stand is for the leaders from both sides to meet, but we always have to consider how we are represented and whether the occasion and timing are appropriate. We do not exclude the possibility of meeting Xi if the conditions are all met satisfactorily.

A peace accord involves many deep-seated issues, and people in Taiwan have not been able to reach consensus. This is not yet the right time for the two sides to discuss a peace accord, but this should not deter us from pursuing peaceful developments and a win-win situation – we are continuing further down this path. For a Ma-Xi meeting, it will happen only when our country needs it and the people support it, and it will require endorsement from the national legislature.

Q: Will you wrap up negotiations on the two pacts further liberalizing the trade of goods and services between Taiwan and China?

A: We certainly hope these will be completed within 18 months.

Q: China has been exerting its power in the East China and South China Seas. How should Taiwan respond?

A: For the East China Sea, our initial idea is to have the three major parties [Taiwan, Japan and China] engage in bilateral talks with each other. When the time is right, we should engage in trilateral negotiations. The South China Sea is a more complex situation than the East China Sea, but the principle should be the same. We must put aside sovereignty disputes and instead devote ourselves to jointly developing and sharing resources.

Q: What role can the U.S. play in Asia-Pacific security?

A: The U.S. has adopted a rebalancing strategy in Asia to ensure regional peace and stability, and we support that overall direction. Yet Asia differs significantly from 50 or 60 years ago when the U.S. implemented a containment strategy. Today, many Asian countries need U.S. assistance on security while they collaborate with China economically. A more nuanced approached is needed to enhance regional peace and prosperity.

From what we can see, the U.S. does not appear to be trying to join countries together in an effort to gang up on China with this rebalancing policy. The U.S. and China are able to work together on several urgent issues, and Washington is also encouraging economies in the region to improve their relations – including Taiwan and the mainland. We believe this will help turn the East China Sea into a sea of peace and collaboration.

Q: China is leading the way on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Does Taiwan want to become involved?

A: We have noticed the proposal to set up AIIB, and some developing countries have said they are happy to participate, but so far we have not been invited – so we continue to pay attention to relevant developments.