Ma justified the deal by explaining that the weapons are of a "defensive nature to defend Taiwan's democracy". The president also reiterated that.
Ma also stated in the interview that a "one country, two systems" model does not suite as a viable option for Taiwan's future political situation, as Taiwan is a full democracy and "elects [their] own president, [their] own national parliament and [they] run [their] own business". While reiterating his inaugural speech that states Taiwan will "maintain the status quo, namely no unification, no independence".
China does not recognize Taiwan's independence as a sovereign nation, as it considers it to be a renegade province of the PRC. However China also considers Inner Mongolia, East Turkestan and Tibet as part of itself even though the three regions were only invaded and taken over after the communists took power in Beijing in 1949.