Taiwan president calls for FTA with U.S.

TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 31 (UPI) -- Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian has called for a U.S.-Taiwan free trade agreement, saying it would strengthen peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region.

Chen made the remark Monday in a meeting with West Virginia Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV in Taipei, the Taiwan News reported Tuesday.

Chen described the economic rise of China as that of a martial power, with the intent of marginalizing and dominating Taiwan. He said the FTA could balance the regional security situation, as it would prevent Taiwan from relying on China, now its major market.

Rockefeller earlier had given a speech to the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research on ways to facilitate the signing of a U.S-Taiwan FTA. In his speech he said, "China must be convinced that any U.S.-Taiwan FTA would be an economic arrangement, not a political statement."

The mainland official newspaper China Daily reported Tuesday that Chen was ignoring Beijing's efforts to create closer economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait, despite a growing demand among Taiwanese businesses for closer economic and trade ties between the island and the mainland.