Abstract: Cross-strait relations, which are always fraught with tension, with the potential for escalation into open conflict, were eased after President Ma Ying-jeou was inaugurated. Significantly, President Ma recognized the 1992 Consensus, which served to integrate Taiwan and Mainland China in relation to economic interests and trade. The signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement ( ECFA) allowed cross-strait relations to proceed to the next stage. Consequently, Mainland China proposed political consultations and the signing of a peace agreement. This paper argues that the greatest obstacle to military cooperation and mutual political trust between Taiwan and Mainland China involves the issue of sovereignty. This paper suggests that easing relations and cooperating on a political level is more difficult when Mainland China and Taiwan employ realist thinking. However, cooperating and reconciling politically in cross-strait relations would be possible if both sides would employ constructivist thinking