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TAIPEI: Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou said on Monday that improved ties between the island and China were "good news" for the entire region, as the odds of military conflict had been greatly reduced.
The Strait between Taiwan and China, heavily armed on both sides, has long been one of the world's most dangerous potential military flash points.
But Ma, speaking to a group of Japanese academics, said the situation had changed dramatically since he took office two months ago.
"Simply put, cross-Strait ties have changed from confrontations to peaceful development. Hopefully the two sides will be able to co-exist peacefully," Ma said, noting that the chance of a military conflict had lessened.
"As the Taiwan Strait and the Korean peninsula are the flash points (in the region), eased tensions across the Strait are good news for the people and countries in Northeast Asia," he said, according to remarks released by his office.
He said better relations between Taiwan and China would be especially welcome in Japan "because Tokyo can continue to maintain close ties with Taiwan and no longer needs to make difficult choices" between Taipei and Beijing.
Ma of the Kuomintang, who was elected in a landslide in March, has pledged to improve ties with China. The two sides launched regular direct flights for the first time in nearly six decades earlier this month.
His government has also allowed more Chinese tourists to visit the island and relaxed controls on China-bound investments, issues which had been shunned by the former government of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 at the end of a bloody civil war.
Japan, which ruled Taiwan and parts of China until 1945, has been working to repair ties with Beijing that were long strained over wartime issues. - AFP/de
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