Singapore, a major hub for Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, is poised to deepen cooperation with Taiwan in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), green energy and biotechnology, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) published today.
The New Southbound Policy, introduced in 2016 by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), is designed to enhance trade and exchanges between Taiwan and 18 nations in the Indo-Pacific region and away from China.
Tung, who has served as Taiwan’s top envoy in Singapore for more than two years, highlighted the breadth of bilateral ties between the two countries that extend far beyond military cooperation.
Photo: Chen Yu-jui, Taipei Times
Taiwan provided considerable military assistance in the early years after Singapore declared independence in 1965, Tung said, referring to “Project Starlight” (星光計畫), in which Singapore sent troops to Taiwan to receive military training.
Military ties have since evolved into extensive exchanges in trade, investment, talent and culture, he added.
Singapore is currently Taiwan’s sixth-largest trading partner, while Taiwan ranks as Singapore’s fourth-largest, he said.
Last year, Taiwan invested US$5.81 billion in Singapore, accounting for 68.3 percent of Taiwan’s total investment in ASEAN nations and 12 percent of its entire foreign investment worldwide, even surpassing investment in China, he said.
He outlined four complementary fields where deeper cooperation is expected to be mutually beneficial.
First, Taiwan and Singapore share close ties in the semiconductor industry, he said.
Although Taiwan is the world’s most important semiconductor producer and irreplaceable in the global supply chain, Singapore also plays an important role, he said, adding that Singapore produces about 10 percent of the world’s semiconductors and 20 percent of its semiconductor equipment.
Major Taiwanese foundries have poured billions into the city-state over the decades, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s US$1.2 billion investment in 1998, United Microelectronics Corp’s (UMC) US$3.6 billion in 2001 and another US$5 billion from UMC in 2022, he said.
Cooperation in this sector would only grow, he added.
Second, Singapore is advancing rapidly in AI and has shown strong willingness to collaborate with Taiwan, he said.
Third, the alternative energy sector is ripe for collaboration, Tung said.
Singapore, which relies on natural gas for 95 percent of its electricity, is not only developing green hydrogen, deploying solar power and importing electricity from abroad, but also exploring new energy sources, such as geothermal energy and small-scale nuclear energy, he said.
These are fields in whcih Taiwan could engage in further exchanges, he added.
Fourth, reproductive biotechnology and medicine would be a promising sector, he said.
Nine of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies, which produce 80 percent of global DNA chips, have their Asian headquarters in Singapore, Tung said.
Singapore’s heavy investment in the sector opens significant opportunities for bilateral collaboration, he added.
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