TAIPEI: Ahead of
Tsai-Ing Wen
’s first speech as President of
Taiwan
on May 20, her vice-minister for foreign affairs, in a casual interaction with a group of visiting journalists, hinted that the country’s first woman head of state would focus on India.
Tsai’s inaugural speech had been most anticipated across the globe, for it would set the island nation’s course of how they would navigate the cross strait relations with China.
However, contrary to expectations, Tsai made it clear that her government’s priorities would be matters economic and strengthening ties with India and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The ties not restricted to economy will see Taiwan and India bond more on tourism, culture, technology, academics and religion as Buddhism is a common thread.
Determined to be a major player in the international order, Tsai has formulated the ‘New Southbound Policy’, seen as complementing India’s ‘Act East Policy,’ through which there are hopes to diversify the economy that is going through its worst crisis.
“It is a major change for Taiwan to pursue economic relations with other countries,” said president of Taiwan-based Institute for National Policy Research, Wen-Cheng Lin. “India and Taiwan are the most democratic countries in Asia and they have no conflict in national security so Taiwan is eager to have closer ties.”
In her 25-minute inaugural speech, the leader of the
Democratic Progressive Party
(DPP) said Taiwan would reinforce its global and regional connections and “bid farewell to past overreliance on a single market.” Observers read this as the country moving on from being overtly relied on China as more than 40% of their exports goes to the mainland.
Though international attention has been on cross-strait relations and the sensitive nerve with Beijing, a survey by Taiwan Brain Trust, a think-tank, showed a contrary local picture. Taiwanese people’s primary concern was about economy, governance, social justice and only then followed by cross-strait relations.
Observers believe that their economy has been affected because of a slowdown in China. “The economic power in Asia Pacific has shifted from ASEAN to India,” says I-Chung Lai, former director general, department of China Affairs in the DPP.
The DPP for the first time in Taiwan’s history holds both the presidency and the country’s parliament, the Legislative Yuan after they recorded a landslide victory over the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, earlier this year. A sluggish economy and former president Ma Ying-jeou’s closer ties with China which lead to a wave of protests, dubbed as the Sunflower Movement, have been key reasons over why people had voted out the Kuomintang.
“The southbound strategy would increase traction to the existing trade interactions and FDI between India and Taiwan and this would obviously upset China,” says Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, senior fellow and head of Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
The policies of both countries will also act as a complementary strategy to the US’s rebalance to Asia under the Obama administration, adds Rajagopalan who has been visiting faculty at National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
In this context, it will be interesting to see how New Delhi and Taipei will move forward while sustaining China in the background. India was to send two MPs for Tsai’s swearing-in but withdrew the representation as President Pranab Mukherjee was to visit Beijing four days later.
“India thought it would be embarrassing (to be in both places),” says Rajagopalan. “It makes Taiwan apprehensive about whether India would be a credible friend or if India will always watch how China reacts...”
However, researchers in Taipei believe there would be no problems. “India’s Prime Minister has had a close relationship with Taiwan,” said Rong-I Wu, chairman, Taiwan Brain Trust, a think-tank. “He (Narendra
Modi) had visited Taiwan a few times even before he became the premier. So India is happy to see Taiwan as a partner.”