India’s top envoy to Taipei said Wednesday that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy has a logic that complements India’s regional foreign policy of building connections with its Eastern neighbors.
Sridharan Madhusudhanan, director general of the India-Taipei Association, said while Taiwan is seeking to enhance ties with countries targeted in its New Southbound Policy, India is looking east.
By boosting links with countries listed in its New Southbound Policy, including India, Taiwan is hoping to achieve sustained economic growth and to transform its economic model, with a focus on innovation and original branding, he said. “On the Indian side, we have launched the Act East Policy, to increase our connections with the region,” Madhusudhanan said.
The India and Taiwan policies, therefore, are linked by complementary logic, Madhusudhanan said.
The Act East Policy, launched in 2014 under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, focuses on India’s relations with its Eastern neighbors.
He said India can contribute to Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, which is aimed at strengthening ties with ASEAN member nations, South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
India is the fastest growing large economy in the world, with a GDP growth of more than 7 percent, he said.
It also has a population of 1.3 billion, a young workforce with an average age of 29 years, and a series of flagship programs such as “Make in India” and “Digital India” that were introduced under Modi’s leadership, the envoy said.
“India is inviting credible partners with capital, capability and cutting-edge technology to join in this growth,” Madhusudhanan said.
In fact, a number of Taiwan corporations have already invested in India, in areas that include information and communication technology, medical devices, automobile components, machinery, steel, electronics, construction, engineering, and financial services, he said.
The India-Taipei Association represents Indian interests in
Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
This story has been corrected since it was first published.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
RSS