Taiwan marks 200 plus days without a local COVID-19 case. Taiwan’s impeccable COVID-19 response has garnered immense appreciation and generated greater awareness about Taiwan among Indians.
This coupled with ever-rising tensions between India and China has led to calls for closer cooperation between India and Taiwan in India. While China has lost the perception war in India primarily due to the violent clashes at the Galwan valley and the ongoing and protracted standoff, Taiwan has gained respect and appreciation among Indians.
Taiwan is now viewed as a friendly and responsible country among Indians. However, this wide reportage and discussion on Taiwan is not going down well with China. On October 7, 2020, Chinese Embassy in India issued a diktat to the Indian media asking them to refrain from calling Taiwan a country while reporting on it and even be in tune with the Indian government’s stand on the so-called ‘One-China policy’. This move backfired and much of Indian media reported widely on Taiwan on its National Day that fell on October 10, 2020. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Tajinder Singh Bagga placed several posters outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi wishing Taiwan on its national day. The photos of which went viral, leading to huge humiliation for the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi. An insecure China’s desperate acts landed it in counterproductive and rather embarrassing situation. China’s so-called wolf-warrior diplomacy has boomeranged and has failed to achieve any objective that Beijing had set.
To reciprocate appreciation and support from several Indians, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen put out a series of tweets. Her tweets on her 2012 India visit and fondness for Indian cuisine resonated well with the Indians. This series of events has shown President Tsai Ing-wen’s crafty abilities to tap on the social media platforms. This also displays that unlike the Chinese officials and diplomats who are resorting to bullish behaviour, Taiwan is sticking to the professional ethics in its foreign policy approaches.
Taiwan has finally got the much-deserved attention from Indians. Unprecedentedly, Taiwan is being discussed in the Indian print and online media. This has contributed to awareness and knowledge about Taiwan among Indians. However, government-to-government interactions are limited in scope and therefore, the potential in the relations still remains under-utilised.
It is important that the leadership from both sides sense the popular sentiments and take steps to strengthen cooperation. The biggest likely gain for both India and Taiwan is on the economic front. A systematic and coordinated dialogue on trade and investment relations is the need of the hour, and eventually an India-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement may follow. This will not only help India reduce its dependence on China but also add a long-term and positive dimension to India-Taiwan relations. Closer economic relations will also give an impetus to President Tsai Ing-wen’s New Southbound Policy.
As far as the security aspect is concerned, Taiwan has been at the receiving end of China’s aggression or the wolf warrior diplomacy. President Tsai ing-wen has been urging the like-minded countries to form a concerted response to tackle common threats and ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The firm attitude that President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration has demonstrated in dealing with China’s bullying marks a significant departure in Taiwan’s policy.
Security cooperation for information sharing in the field of cyber is essential. The two sides may also consider initiating a policy planning dialogue at mid-official level. This will help the two countries better understand the changing regional dynamics and accommodate each other’s’ interests. For Taiwan’s inclusion in the key international mechanisms, the onus should not lie on one country but the like-minded countries such as Australia, India, Japan and the United States should jointly promote Taiwan’s greater participation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Equal focus should also be on strengthening people-to-people ties. People are at the core of India-Taiwan bilateral ties and to sustain the momentum, it is crucial for both countries to encourage more scholarship on the bilateral relations. Lack of academic work on India-Taiwan relations make it one of the most understudied and understated set of relationships. More engagement and collaboration between academicians of both countries will lead to further awareness about each other.
The problem in the relations is the lack of sustained and persuasive focus. While for India, it is important to de-hyphenate India’s Taiwan policy from India-China relations, for Taiwan, it is crucial that a long-term strategy for engaging India is devised. India is a focal country in the New Southbound Policy, and having a blueprint for cooperation in the areas of mutual interests will not only strengthen the New Southbound policy but will also provide framework for future cooperation between India and Taiwan.
*Sana Hashmi is Taiwan Fellow at Institute of International Relations, National Chengchi University, and a former consultant with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.