[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1323]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


  SUPPORTING PRESIDENT MA OF TAIWAN AND THE PROPOSED SOUTH CHINA SEA 
                       PEACE INITIATIVE ROAD MAP

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BLAKE FARENTHOLD

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 3, 2016

  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, on January 28, President Ma Ying-jeou of 
the Republic of China (Taiwan) visited Taiping Island in the Nansha 
Islands ahead of the Lunar New Year to see the guards and medical staff 
stationed there. He unveiled ``the South China Sea Peace Initiative 
Road Map'' which could be applied as a reference to the parties 
concerned in the region. The content of the South China Sea Peace 
Initiative Road Map is stated as below:
  ``1. ``Yes'' to cooperation, ``no'' to confrontation: A cooperation 
and development mechanism that contributes to peace and prosperity in 
the South China Sea should first be established, and sovereignty 
disputes should be set aside for future resolution through peaceful 
means.
  2. ``Yes'' to sharing, ``no'' to monopolizing: A cooperation and 
development mechanism should ensure equal participation and resource 
sharing among all parties concerned in the region in order to avoid 
undermining the rights and interests of any party.
  3. ``Yes'' to pragmatism, ``no'' to intransigence: The initial focus 
should be on aspects which are beneficial to all parties concerned and 
on which consensus can be easily achieved; various cooperation items 
should be pragmatically and gradually promoted so as to avoid missing 
out on cooperation opportunities as a result of any party insisting on 
its position.
  The viable path consists of shelving disputes, integrated planning, 
and zonal development. The two essential elaborations are: First, all 
parties concerned in the region should be included in the consultation 
mechanism for this initiative so that they can engage in cooperation 
and negotiations on integrated planning for the South China Sea. 
Second, the cooperation and consultation mechanism proposed in this 
initiative should be a provisional arrangement of a practical nature, 
and should not undermine the position of any party concerned or 
jeopardize or hamper the reaching of a final agreement on the South 
China Sea.''
  As a member of the Taiwan Congressional Caucus, I am glad to see that 
the national leader of Taiwan is willing to provide a peaceful approach 
to decrease the tension in this region.

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