File photo of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou. (Reuters)
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Singapore on Saturday, Ma's office said, in what will be the first meeting between leaders from the two rivals since the end of a civil war in 1949.
The two presidents will "exchange views on cross-strait issues" Ma's spokesman Charles Chen said Tuesday, referring to the stretch of water separating mainland China and Taiwan.
The intention of the visit is to "secure cross-strait peace" but no agreement will be signed and there will be no joint statement, he said.
The surprise meeting follows a gradual warming of relations with Beijing since Ma of the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) came to power in 2008.
Beijing still considers the island part of its territory even though the two sides have been governed separately since Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and his KMT forces fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong's communists.
Chen said Ma would leave for Singapore on Saturday where he will meet Xi.
"The purpose of President Ma's visit is to secure cross-strait peace and maintain the status quo of the Taiwan Straits," Chen said in a statement.
"No agreement will be signed, nor any joint statement be released," he said, adding that Ma will hold an international press conference on Thursday.
The head of Taiwan's top China policy decision-making body, the Mainland Affairs Council, will hold a press conference Wednesday where more details will be released as to the significance of the meeting.
There has been no reaction from Beijing so far.Tuesday's announcement was unexpected after Ma's hopes for a meeting with Xi had previously been dashed despite improved relations.
He had hoped to meet Xi at an APEC meeting in Beijing in November but said China had refused.
"This is a milestone in cross-Strait relations," said Professor Chao Chun-shan, an expert in mainland affairs at Tamkang University in Taipei.
"It should be helpful for the stabilisation of the region," he told the Apple Daily.
But some opposition political parties expressed concern over the meeting and called on supporters to protest Wednesday outside parliament.
Concern over closer tiesWhile ties have warmed under Ma, public sentiment has turned against closer relations as fears over Beijing's influence grow.
Ma will step down as president next year after a maximum two terms and the main opposition China-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is expected to win the leadership at elections in January.
A senior DPP spokesman told local media the party would not comment until further details of the visit were released.
The KMT suffered its heaviest-ever local election defeat last year, with its China-friendly strategy a major factor.
While closer ties with Beijing have brought trade pacts and a tourism boom, many voters feel big business has benefited, rather than ordinary Taiwanese people.
There are also concerns over lack of transparency -- last year saw the unprecedented occupation of parliament by student protesters angered by a trade agreement they said had been made in secret.
But Ma has repeatedly defended his China-friendly policies, saying they have brought stability to the region.
The KMT adheres to the "1992 consensus" -- a tacit agreement between the party and Beijing which acknowledges there is "one China" but allows each side their own interpretation.
Ma has warned against the consequences of diverging from the 1992 consensus, which the DPP does not recognise.
DPP candidate Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly said that she will maintain the status quo if elected president in January, but is likely to face pressure from pro-independent voices within her own party.
She has also been criticised by the KMT who say she has not fully explained how her policy will work.
The KMT replaced its pro-China presidential candidate last month as the deeply divided party struggles for public support.
Party chairman Eric Chu was endorsed as the KMT's new contender after members voted against Hung Hsiu-chu representing them at the polls, following concern that her conservative views fly in the face of public sentiment.
Hung had historically taken a pro-unification stance and espoused a peace agreement with China.