Taiwan's opposition leader and potential "presidential" front-runner Ma Ying-jeou called on Monday for multilateral talks with the mainland to avoid confrontation.

Supporters of Taiwan's main opposition Nationalist Party shout slogans during a protest march in Taipei March 12, 2006. Thousands of people marched through Taipei on Sunday to denounce "president" Chen Shui-bian, accusing him of fanning tensions with the mainland. [Reuters]

"Without negotiations, I think the current state across the Taiwan Strait could move from stagnation to confrontation," Ma told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Relations with the mainland have been strained since February when pro-independence Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian scrapped the National Unification Council (NUC), a dormant but politically significant body aimed at one day reuniting the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Ma, the mayor of Taipei, is chairman of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), or the Nationalist Party, which favors closer ties across the Strait. He called the abolition of the council "unnecessary and unwise."

Ma, 55, seen by many as the opposition's best bet for victory in the 2008 polls, has said he would reopen talks and aim to sign a peace agreement with the mainland if his party regained power in the next "presidential election."

In comments to reporters after his speech, Ma said that in the meantime, talks should include ruling and opposition parties in the mainland and Taiwan as well as "governments".

"We in the KMT have already established a dialogue with the Chinese Communist Party. We also call upon the mainland to talk. Otherwise I'm really afraid the situation will deteriorate," Ma said, referring to the "escalation of confrontation" caused by the NUC matter.

Beijing refuses to deal with Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) stands for an independent Taiwan identity.