Taiwan-U.S.-China ties now best in 60 years: President Ma

He stressed, however, that all of the pacts were reached without compromising the sovereignty of the country.

Questioned on whether the U.S. would continue selling weapons to Taiwan, Ma said Taiwan needed to purchase weapons to defend itself and its democracy, and that the U.S. has been providing Taiwan with defensive weapons in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act.

He said arms deals are in the interests of both Taiwan and the U.S, and Washington understands arms sales to Taiwan will help maintain stability in the region.

Christiane Amanpour early on asked Ma about domestic opposition to a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement that Taiwan hopes to sign with China in June.

He said that after his debate with an opposition leader last Sunday, support for such a pact has increased, and that his government will continue to explain it to the general public to solicit more support for a deal that he argued would benefit Taiwan very much.

Amanpour also questioned Ma about possible plans to meet Chinese leader Hu Jintao, but the president said there were no such plans at present because the time for such a meeting was not right.

He said he would seek to consolidate the foundation for better cross-strait relations by increasing economic, cultural and educational exchanges between the two sides.