India and Taiwan 25 Years of Relationship

Content:

Historical Aspects:

• India-Taiwan relations have been improving gradually.
• The bilateral relations between India and Taiwan have improved since the 1990s despite both nations not maintaining official diplomatic relations
• The two sides established representative offices in 1995 in New Delhi and Taipei respectively.
• India recognises only the People’s Republic of China (in mainland China) and not the Republic of China’s claims of being the legitimate government of Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau – a conflict that emerged after the Chinese Civil War (1945–49). 
• However, India’s economic and commercial links as well as people-to-people contacts with Taiwan have expanded in recent years
• Mutual efforts between Delhi and Taipei have enabled a range of bilateral agreements covering agriculture, investment, customs cooperation, civil aviation, industrial cooperation and other areas

Present Relationship:

The growing relationship has been a low-key affair as India has been hesitant to acknowledge the improving ties in public. 

Cooperation without Formal Diplomatic Relations:

• India has sought to gradually develop better commercial, cultural and scientific cooperation with Taiwan, albeit whilst ruling out the possibility of establishing formal diplomatic relations.
• Taiwan has also viewed India’s rising geopolitical standing as a counterbalance to the PRC’s dominance in the region.

Shared Goals and Values:

• Both have increasingly deepened mutual respect underpinned by openness, with democracy and diversity as the key principles for collective growth. 
• The shared faith in freedom, human rights, justice, and rule of law continues to embolden their ties. 

Recent Political Relations:

• In May 2020, two members of the Indian Parliament virtually attended the newly elected President Tsai’s swearing in ceremony and praised Taiwanese democracy, thereby sending what some have termed a warning message to China and signaling a strengthening of relations between the Tsai and Modi administrations.
• In July 2020, the Indian government appointed a top career diplomat, Joint Secretary Gourangalal Das, the former head of the U.S. division in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, as its new envoy to Taiwan.

Commercial Relations:

• • As a part of its “Look East” foreign policy, India has sought to cultivate extensive ties with Taiwan in trade and investment as well as developing co-operation in science & technology, environment issues and people-to-people exchanges. 

• Both sides have aimed to develop ties, partly to counteract Chinese rivalry with both nations.
• Between 1995 and 2014, the bilateral trade turnover has grown manifold from just $934 million to $5.91 billion. 
• In 2019, India – Taiwan trade volume was US$7 billion, growing at a rate of 20% YoY.
• Major Taiwanese exports to India include integrated circuits, machinery and other electronic products. 
• India is also keen to attract Taiwanese investment particularly in hi-tech and labour-intensive industries. 
• More than 80 Taiwanese companies and entities currently have a presence in India
• In the field of science and technology, there are more than thirty ongoing government-funded joint research projects.

Cultural exchanges:

• Both sides have also expanded educational exchanges after a mutual degree recognition agreement in higher education was signed in 2010. 
• Buddhism is the most widely practiced religion in Taiwan, usually alongside elements of Daoism, and Bollywood films have in recent years gained a reasonably popular following, along with other aspects of Indian culture such as yoga, cuisine and Indian dance.
• Cultural exchanges between the two countries have grown significantly.
• With the Taiwan Tourism Bureau partnering with Mumbai Metro, Taiwan is trying to raise awareness about the country and increase the inflow of Indian tourists.
• However, Taiwanese tourists in India are a very small number.

Future Prospects:

Transforming ties into Partnership:

• India and Taiwan, thus far, have had relations constituted by various activities, but what needs to be thought about now is whether they can transform their ties into a fruitful partnership.
• For this to happen, India needs to review its Taiwan policy to recognize changed geopolitical and geo-economic realities, and also for the confirmation of the autonomy of Taiwan’s democracy. 
• Taiwan needs to review its India policy to shape what many perceive as its unrealistic and vague expectations

Cultivating political framework:

• To make this relationship more meaningful, both sides can create a group of empowered persons or a task force to chart out a road map in a given time frame. 
• Political will is the key.

Deepening healthcare cooperation:

• India has been in the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. Likewise, Taiwan’s handling of the pandemic and its support to many other countries underlines the need to deepen healthcare cooperation. 
• India and Taiwan already collaborate in the area of traditional medicine. 
• The time is ripe to expand cooperation in the field of healthcare.

Undertaking joint R&D initiatives and Green Technology:

• Maintaining air quality has become a mammoth challenge for the Indian government and stubble burning is an important reason for severe air pollution. 
• Taiwan could be a valuable partner in dealing with this challenge through its bio-friendly technologies.  Such methods are applied to convert agricultural waste into value-added and environmentally beneficial renewable energy or biochemicals. 
• This will be a win-win situation as it will help in dealing with air pollution and also enhance farmers’ income. 
• Further, New Delhi and Taipei can also undertake joint research and development initiatives in the field of organic farming.

Tourism for civilisational exchange:

• India and Taiwan need to deepen people-to-people connection.
• It not only helps one appreciate another culture but also helps in overcoming prejudices and cultural misunderstanding. Tourism is the key tool in this exchange. 
• The Buddhist pilgrimage tour needs better connectivity and visibility, in addition to showcasing incredible India’s diversity. This will accelerate the flow of Taiwanese tourists. 
• With the Taiwan Tourism Bureau partnering with Mumbai Metro, Taiwan is trying to raise awareness about the country and increase the inflow of Indian tourists.

Deepening economic ties:

• India’s huge market provides Taiwan with investment opportunities. 
• Taiwan’s reputation as the world leader in semiconductor and electronics complements India’s leadership in ITES (Information Technology-Enabled Services). 
• This convergence of interests will help create new opportunities. 
• India’s recent strides in the ease of business ranking not only provide Taiwan with lucrative business opportunities but also help it mitigate its over-dependence on one country for investment opportunities.