Taipei, Dec. 27 (CNA) Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are expected to fall to a more stable level, while those across the Taiwan Strait are expected to rise, said an ex-official in a forum Thursday.
"While the military situation between North and South Korea should be stabilized by the current six party talks, the cross-strait situation is moving in the other direction, " said Lee Tsai-fang, Taiwan's representative to South Korea from 2003 to 2006.
Recent statements from officials of the United States show that cross-strait tensions have risen to a level at which the U.S. feels it is necessary to speak up, Lee said in a Taiwan Thinktank-organized forum discussing South Korea's presidential election and East Asian security.
The "unification versus independence" argument is Taiwan's particular political issue, he said, adding that his personal view was that it would be better to maintain the status quo and let time take care of the problem.
Lee Myung-bak's landslide victory in the presidential election also suggests that South Korea's "North Korea policy" will follow a road map to a peaceful resolution rather than confrontation, he added.
Relations between the two Koreas have been governed by a "top-down" process and handled by government-to-government negotiations in contrast to cross-Taiwan Strait relations, which have been characterized by a "bottom-up" process dominated by civic exchanges and activities, he said.
"But, of course, there is no 'national identity issue' among the Koreans. The problem they have is more of a 'regional complex.' In Taiwan, the situation is just the opposite, " Lee said.
Lee Ming-jun, deputy secretary-general of Taiwanese Society of International Law, agreed with the ex-official's observation, saying that on the Korean Peninsula "politics goes before the economy", while economic considerations take precedence in relations between Taiwan and China.