President Ma Ying-jeou has expressed his intention to run for next year's presidential election, and revealed his future plans as a leader while speaking with a reporter from the Washington Post.

Ma talked about the importance to maintain the nation's self-defense capabilities, and his goal in carrying out negotiation talks with China.

During a Chinese language interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, President Ma Ying-jeou expressed his intentions of running for re-election for the first time.

In regards to military cooperation between Taiwan and the United States, Ma said that relations would not be affected by the Luo Hsien-che espionage case and further called on the U.S. to sell new F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan.

According to the president, improving cross-strait relations allow for the pursuit of peace and prosperity.

However, as the Republic of China is a sovereign state, it must have the ability to defend itself and negotiate with China as an equal.

Apart from expressing concern about China's human rights issues, Ma also discussed ECFA and how it is changing Taiwan's status in the East Asian economy.

ECFA opens up many new trade opportunities with not only China, but other nations as well.

Ma says that ECFA is a beginning rather than an end, and that the economy will remain the higher priority in cross-strait dialogue for the time being.

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