Ma said that if elected he would increase Taipei's military spending to show Taiwan's resolve to defend itself, according local media.
In a roundtable interview with Japanese media, Ma also said the Japan-U.S. alliance is the foundation of stability in East Asia, according to Jiji Press.
If elected president, Ma said he would increase Taiwan's defence spending to more than three percent of its gross domestic product and would "efficiently" procure military equipment, Jiji said.
"This would be to show our resolve to defend ourselves," said Ma, the candidate of the opposition Kuomintang in February's election.
When asked by a Japanese editorial writer at a news conference which channel he would seek to use to sign a cross-strait peace agreement with the Chinese leadership, Ma said that how this initiative is realized and by whom the agreement should be signed are technical issues which can be discussed.
The point is that leaders from both sides are willing to act, Ma said in answer to the question during the news conference featuring the participation of journalists and columnists from major Japanese media outlets, including the Kyodo News, Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun.
Ma said currently he has no plans to visit China.
When questioned whether he supports the idea that major powers from around the world should convene a meeting on the cross-Taiwan Strait issue, like in the case of the six-country meeting on North Korea's nuclear issue, Ma said that it would be more appropriate if the cross-strait problems were solved by the two sides themselves, although he said, he would welcome the invaluable opinions offered by friendly countries on the cross-strait issue.
He added that SEF and ARATS conducted 24 rounds of cross-strait negotiations before 2000 and four agreements were reached during the first Koo-Wang meeting in Singapore in April 1993, which broke the ice between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The four agreements indicate that both sides are willing and able to resolve problems and disputes, he noted.
Ma had said upon his arrival in Japan Wednesday that if elected, he would see to it that Taiwan's annual military budget accounts for 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) . That budget currently stands below 3 percent.
On that issue, a journalist asked why, if the opposition Kuomintang shares same stance on the military budget issue as that held by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), have these two rival parties been severely divided over the issue?
Ma answered that the U.S. government approved the sale of a package of arms,including submarines,Patriot missiles and anti-submarine aircraft to Taiwan in 2001, but the DPP administration did not submit a budget bill for the procurement project until three years later in June 2004.
Noting that that proposal was rejected at one point by the legislature on the grounds that details of the proposal were too sketchy and prices were about twice as high as fair market value, Ma went on to say that the purchase of Patriot missiles was later nixed by members of the Taiwan public in a nationwide referendum in 2004 initiated by the DPP administration,while the purchase of anti submarine aircraft has already been passed by the legislature and the purchase of submarines is still under assessment.
On the controversial Tiaoyutai Island issue, Ma said that he used to be a scholar of international law and had written several books on the issue.
He stressed that the Tiaoyutai Island issue, like all issues involving competing national claims to sovereignty and interest, should be solved in a peaceful manner, including via negotiations, mediation and arbitration.
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Kuomintang presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou waves to his supporters at Taoyuan International Airport last night. Ma said in a roundtable interview with Japanese media that if elected he would increase Taipei¡¯s military spending to show ...
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