India-Taiwan relations are in an upswing mode marked by growing convergence notwithstanding the absence of diplomatic relations. In that context, at least three events are discernable. First, in the first week of July, Taiwan announced that it will open a representative office in Mumbai. This will be the third such office of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in India; the other two are located in New Delhi and Chennai. TECC is the official representative of Taiwan in India. Similarly the India-Taipei Association is the official representative of India in Taiwan, an arrangement in absence of formal diplomatic representation.

Second, Foxconn, a leading semiconductor manufacturing company from Taiwan, has expressed interest in investing in India. This is a significant development for both the countries as Taiwan is one of the leading manufacturer of semiconductors. Currently, Taiwan’s largest market for semiconductors is China and investing in India would allow it to diversify its supply chains as also tap into India’s fast growing semiconductor market.

The third event is particularly important from India’s point of view as it indicates India’s foray into the geopolitics of the Taiwan Strait. It also implies that India may just have started to assert its strategic interests in a clear manner.

India’s overtures towards Taiwan are a part of India’s overall thrust towards eastward engagements from long term and short term perspectives. The short term perspective includes India’s accelerated strategic outreach to Southeast Asian countries in the past few months. India has had a series of defence engagements with the Southeast Asian countries since May this year starting with the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise. This was followed by back-to-back bilateral meetings with Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

While these are encouraging developments to forward India’s strategic interests, two aspects make New Delhi’s approach stand out. One, India handed over INS Kirpan, an in-service missile corvette, to Vietnam. Two, during the visit of Philippines’ Secretary of Foreign Affairs to New Delhi in June, India sided with the Philippines in the latter’s territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea. India called for adherence to international law, in particular the 1982 UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award which had ruled in favour of the Philippines on the issue of its disputes with China. India has also backed these two developments by targeting the Southeast Asian countries as a destination for defence exports.  

India is projecting itself as a major power looking to expand its footprint towards the Pacific component of the Indo-Pacific Region. The defence cooperation with ASEAN countries also hints at India’s willingness to participate in the geopolitics of the South China Sea. For this purpose, Taiwan would be an important partner for India. Despite not according diplomatic recognition to Taiwan, India’s increasing proximity towards it is crucial as deterrence against China.

Recently, India’s three former service chiefs – General Manoj Mukund Naravane (Retd.), Admiral Karambir Singh (Retd.) and Air Chief Marshall Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria (Retd.) – visited Taiwan to participate in ‘Kelangatan Forum 2023 – Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue’ hosted by Taiwan’s foreign ministry. They also held a meeting with Institute of National Defence and Security Research which is Taiwanese Ministry of Defence primary think tank. Engagement between India’s former service chiefs and Taiwanese officials would strengthen the dialogue between the two militaries.

Such development could be considered as a prelude to India preparing to respond in case China launches a full-scale attack on Taiwan. New Delhi’s growing support to Taipei, although not in any official capacity, is becoming more imperative, given Beijing’s continuing belligerence at India’s borders. The visit by the three former service chiefs comes around the same time when the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks were held between India and China to discuss disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Western Sector in Ladakh.

As regards long term perspective, India’s interactions with Taiwan have followed the trajectory of India’s engagements with Quad. With Quad, India had initially shown hesitancy as it could upset ties with China. However, in the past six years, India has been bold in its approach to Quad and has been an enthusiastic participant in various initiatives of this grouping.

India is similarly shedding its inhibitions about Taiwan, although there is still a long way to go. India’s focused eastward engagements in the form of Act East Policy were short on proactive strategic outreach. India is taking steps to address this issue and cooperation with Taiwan is an important aspect of this policy.

Along with India, the other Quad members – the United States, Japan and Australia – have also been strong supporters of Taiwan. Taiwan has even hosted political delegations from these countries regularly. For India’s part, two members of parliament of the ruling party BJP had virtually attended the swearing-in ceremony of the present Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2020.

It is also in India’s interest to work closely with Taiwan as the latter plays an important role in dividing China’s military resources which could otherwise be easily shifted along India’s borders and to other regions where China is engaged in territorial disputes..

Mr. Niranjan Marjani is a political analyst and researcher based in Vadodara, India.