A universally accepted notion about international relations and world history is: “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.”
This holds true of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the belligerent postures of the two revisionist powers — China and Russia — the pace of regional and global strategic dynamics has been exacerbated, leaving many in the region to catch up with changing realities.
India and Taiwan are two such partners. Cognizant of the mutual gains their bilateral relations might accrue, New Delhi and Taipei are engaging each other at a fast pace while abandoning their “status quo” approach. A long-term strategy to push relations forward in a more systematic and meaningful way is in order.
Enabling steps to devise such a long-term vision are already in place. For instance, Taiwan is an unofficial part of India’s Act East Policy. Although India has not officially included Taiwan within the ambit of the policy, Taiwan does figure prominently within its framework. So it is only natural that the Act East Policy’s three Cs — commerce, culture and connectivity — are expanded in India’s relations with Taiwan as well. One could add a fourth “C” — cyberspace.
Commercial ties are at the core of relations between Taiwan and India. The volume of trade since last year has increased by 60 percent, but two-way trade remains below US$10 billion. The Bilateral Investment Treaty in its new avatar was signed in 2018, and was also the last agreement between the two countries.
Investment also remains low, but the good news is that it has doubled since the treaty was signed. Taiwanese business leaders are considered to be averse to risk, which explains their preference for East and Southeast Asian markets for investments.
However, Southeast Asian markets are becoming increasingly saturated, coupled with increasing competition from advanced economies such as Australia, the EU and Japan. Australia, the UK and the EU have their eyes India’s vast market. If Taiwan does not take this opportunity, it could be added to an already long list of missed opportunities.
Cultural exchanges between Taiwan and India should also be promoted. The India Spring Festival in Taiwan is held each year, but India could do more on its side. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the cultural and public diplomacy body within India’s Ministry of External Affairs, could play a bigger role.
One of the little-explored aspects in the cultural partnership is Buddhism. To strengthen connections between Taiwanese and Indians, Taiwan could promote local tours of sites for Indian visitors. This should also be done for Taiwanese visitors in India, which has been making efforts to increase tourist inflows as a part of its “incredible India” campaign.
Airline connectivity between the two countries also should be improved. China Airlines’ direct flights to New Delhi have come to a halt because of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Taiwanese and Indian travelers who avoid transit through Hong Kong, their only options are to travel through Singapore, Dubai and Thailand.
Despite its potential to become one of Asia’s most popular destinations, Taiwan is not configured as a priority for Indian tourists.
Regarding cyberspace, India and Taiwan are facing an increasing number of threats from a common adversary. While Taiwan is no stranger to Chinese cyberattacks — sometimes in the millions in a month — India recently experienced an attack by Chinese hackers on power grids in Ladakh.
Taiwan and India could negotiate agreements in cybersecurity to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s experiences.
The governments should lay out a comprehensive plan to advance ties in all of these areas. The four Cs should be included in Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, which is being re-evaluated by President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration.
This year marks the 30th year of India’s Look East Policy. Formally integrating Taiwan into its Look East and Act East policies would be a timely and much-needed step.
Sana Hashmi is a visiting fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation and non-resident researcher with the Research Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs, Japan.
China’s supreme objective in a war across the Taiwan Strait is to incorporate Taiwan as a province of the People’s Republic. It follows, therefore, that international recognition of Taiwan’s de jure independence is a consummation that China’s leaders devoutly wish to avoid. By the same token, an American strategy to deny China that objective would complicate Beijing’s calculus and deter large-scale hostilities. For decades, China has cautioned “independence means war.” The opposite is also true: “war means independence.” A comprehensive strategy of denial would guarantee an outcome of de jure independence for Taiwan in the event of Chinese invasion or
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) earlier this month said it is necessary for her to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and it would be a “huge boost” to the party’s local election results in November, but many KMT members have expressed different opinions, indicating a struggle between different groups in the party. Since Cheng was elected as party chairwoman in October last year, she has repeatedly expressed support for increased exchanges with China, saying that it would bring peace and prosperity to Taiwan, and that a meeting with Xi in Beijing takes priority over meeting
The political order of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) first took shape in 1988. Then-vice president Lee succeeded former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) after he passed, and served out the remainder of his term in office. In 1990, Lee was elected president by the National Assembly, and in 1996, he won Taiwan’s first direct presidential election. Those two, six and four-year terms were an era-defining 12-year presidential tenure. Throughout those years, Lee served as helmsman for Taiwan’s transition from martial law and authoritarianism to democracy. This period came to be known as the “quiet revolution,” leaving a legacy containing light
Taiwan no longer wants to merely manufacture the chips that power artificial intelligence (AI). It aims to build the software, platforms and services that run on them. Ten major AI infrastructure projects, a national cloud computing center in Tainan, the sovereign language model Trustworthy AI Dialogue Engine, five targeted industry verticals — from precision medicine to smart agriculture — and the goal of ranking among the world’s top five in computing power by 2040: The roadmap from “Silicon Island” to “Smart Island” is drawn. The question is whether the western plains, where population, industry and farmland are concentrated, have the water and
RSS