A forum in Taipei on Friday discussed the future of the nation’s New Southbound Policy in a post-COVID-19 world.
The policy, introduced in 2016, aims to boost interactions between Taiwan, ASEAN and South Asian nations in human resources, industry, investment, education, culture, tourism and agriculture.
Taiwan should find ways to enhance its strategic importance in the Indo-Pacific region, in addition to attracting economic investment and encouraging talent exchanges, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) told the forum, which was initiated by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation and hosted by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times).
The New Southbound
Sentiment between Taiwan and India has warmed considerably during the five years of the New Southbound Policy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there is a need for deeper engagement in mid-level political and academic circles, a visiting expert on Taiwan-India relations said on Friday.
“Taiwan is considered one of the most important friendly countries for India,” but India is also “one of the most reluctant countries” when it comes to Taiwan, Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation visiting fellow Sana Hashmi said on the sidelines of a forum on the New Southbound Policy in Taipei organized by the foundation and the Liberty Times
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The visit this week to Tibet by Chinese President Xi Jinping underscores China’s concerns over security on the border with its southern neighbor India, where military clashes between the two countries took place last year, experts told RFA on Friday.
Xi Jinping’s visit on Thursday and Friday to Lhasa, capital of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), was his first since becoming China’s president in 2013 and went unannounced ahead of time by the Chinese press.
He had visited Tibet previously as vice president in 2011 when Chen Quanguo, now Communist Party chief in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), was party chief in Tibet.
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