Taipei, Aug 20 (IANS) Taiwan needs a sustained India strategy of its own, a report detailed while noting that Taipei still tends to view the country through a traditional and outdated lens.
While India has been a priority country for Taiwan, particularly under the New Southbound Policy Plus initiative, Taipei’s integrated diplomacy approach, and its broader Indo-Pacific strategy, the broader economic and strategic focus on India appears to have diminished, a report in the Taipei Times newspaper noted.
“Taiwan still tends to view India through a traditional and outdated lens, and much of its understanding of India’s foreign policy outlook appears more reactive than evidence-based. One example is the interpretation of India’s efforts to manage and stabilise ties with China as a reset in relations and, consequently, as evidence that India is inching closer to China. This is flawed. Managing ties with China does not mean abandoning engagement with Taiwan,” the report mentioned.
It also noted that India refrained from looking at engagements with Taiwan through the China lens.
“Additionally, it is never simply a question of China versus the US for India. As strategic autonomy gains greater importance, as the international system becomes less unipolar and as middle powers exercise greater agency, Taiwan still appears to be looking at international relations largely through the prism of US-China competition,” the report stressed.
It highlighted that the perception of a weakening Indo-Pacific due to growing differences between India and the US is another important factor.
“This interpretation misses the larger regional picture. The Indo-Pacific is not disappearing. Rather, the credibility and reliability of the US are being questioned by an increasing number of countries. Many regional states are either doubling down on the Indo-Pacific construct or placing greater emphasis on regional agency and their own strategic interests,” said the report.
It emphasised that Taiwan should pay closer attention to the changing perceptions of the US, including the transactional approach towards its allies and traditional partners.
“There is no doubt that there can be no meaningful Indo-Pacific strategy without India. As one of the region’s largest economies and a critical strategic actor, India’s role is indispensable to any vision of a free, open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region,” noted the report.
–IANS
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