I recently watched a TV commercial by an Australian dating website that two people finding their perfect match in “hallelujah” moment. With one couple, the guy discovers that his date loves playing videos games as much as him. With another couple, a tough, well-built guy is scared of nothing except spiders, but is pleasantly surprised to find his date to be very good at removing spiders by trapping them in glass jars. The commercial was heart-warming, but it is true that when you find a partner with common or complementary interests, you have one of those “hallelujah” moments! I think when Taiwan’s “Go South” policy meets India’s “Act East” policy and considering both the commonality and complementary of interests, you have the makings of a perfect ‘hallelujah” moment.
As part of my PhD thesis on strategic management. I spent a considerable amount of time studying India’s economic and social development (my thesis included a case study of an Indian firm). 1991 was a watershed moment for India’s economy, when the government decided to remove decades of restrictive state controls. India’s “Look East” policy was also formulated at that time under the Narasimha Rao government, aiming for better economic engagement with nations in East and South-East Asia. This led to strategic partnerships and security cooperation with a number of countries in that region particularly Japan and Vietnam. Interestingly, Delhi and Taipei established complementary representative offices in 1995 also as part of the “Look East” policy). Since then, India has sought to cultivate extensive ties with Taiwan in trade and investment as well as developing co-operation in environment issues, science & technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
A “new India” was the centre of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory speech in 2014. Since his landslide election victory PM Modi has worked hard to achieve a greater strategic role for India in the Indo-Pacific. The Modi government has made it clear that India would focus more on improving relations with ASEAN and other East Asian countries. Already, the Modi government has transformed the “Look East” policy to the “Act East” policy, involving a more proactive role for India in this region.
Taiwan’s “New Southbound” policy (also known as the “Go South” policy) was announced in 2016 Tsai Ing-Wen’s (蔡英文) Presidential Inaugural Address.
“We will share resources, talents and markets with other countries to achieve economies of scale and to allow the efficient use of resources. This is the spirit on which our ‘New Southbound Policy’ is based. We will broaden exchanges and cooperation with regional neighbours in areas such as technology, culture and commerce, and expand in particular our dynamic relationships with ASEAN and India.”
The “Southbound” policy (南向政策) is not a novel approach. It was initiated by former President (1988-2000) Lee Teng-Hui (李登輝) in 1991 to cultivate an economic identity that is not overly dependent on China by encouraging businesspeople to invest in Southeast Asia countries. The policy was not a complete failure, but had limited impact as businesspeople did not have enough information about Southeast Asia countries, were insecure about language and cultural barriers and were unaware of market opportunities.
Later, former President (2000-2008) Chen Shui-Bian (陳水扁) reintroduced the policy in 2002, but this attempt proved to be ineffective as China seemed to be a more attractive investment destination to most Taiwanese investors. However, the current situation has changed dramatically. China’s labour costs have increased significantly and its economic growth has slowed down dramatically. In addition there has been considerable concern about China’s internal instability. A lot of Taiwanese businesspeople have left China and are searching new opportunities elsewhere.
Current President Tsai Ing-Wen (蔡英文) has refreshed the old policy and called it the “New Southbound Policy” (新南向政策). It is a five-year plan aimed to expanding business, industrial, educational, cultural and agricultural exchange between Taiwan on the one hand and ASEAN countries and India on the other.
Originally, the “Southbound” policy only focused on 7 ASEAN countries: Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia. With Tsai’s “New Southbound” policy the list has been extended to 18 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australasia, with a special emphasis on India. President Tsai’s administration acknowledges India as the region’s economic powerhouse. The importance of expanding the dynamic relationship with India has been explicitly mentioned in a number of speeches and interviews given by President Tsai. Rumour has it that President Tsai got to know and respect India and Indian business and intellectual abilities from her contact with fellow Indian students during her PhD student days in the UK.
The Tsai government is seriously pursuing this new strategy by emphasizing Taiwan’s soft power and its research and innovation capabilities. This approach allows Taiwan an alternative means of engaging with these countries (most of which avoid formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan due to the threat of Chinese retribution). It also mitigates Taiwan’s economic marginalization in a rapidly integrating region (mainly the result of Chinese opposition to Taiwan’ signing of bilateral and regional trade agreements).
Economic cooperation between Taiwan and India has warmed up in recent years, but a more robust diplomatic relationship with Taiwan is definitely needed. Not many world leaders have visited Taiwan, but Prime Minister Modi was one of the few exceptions (although not in the capacity of India’s Prime Minister). He visited Taiwan as General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1999. When Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat (2001-2014), he often met with Taiwanese government officials and business leaders vising Gujarat. Once in an international meeting on shipbreaking in Gujarat in 2007, Modi lauded Taiwan’s expertise in hardware and said that with India’s strength in software, the two sides should cooperate more closely like “body and soul”. Similarly, Tsai Ing-Wen also paid a visit to Delhi in 2011 as the Chairperson (2008-2012, 2014- present) of the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Taiwan also hosted some high profile politicians from India, for example, former Indian President (2002-2007) Abdul Kalam.
Taiwan wants to “go south”. India does not just “look east” and further wants to “act east”. Indeed, Taiwan and India have had the “hallelujah” moment in their relationship. The rest is hard work to establish the necessary connections on multiple levels with sincerity and depth. Ultimately, these connections and better relationships will benefit both Taiwan and India.
Article/ Image source: http://taiwanfellowship.ncl.edu.tw/eng/index.aspx
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