Taiwan, also known as Republic of China(ROC), a much smaller country than most of the countries around the world, became a torch-bearer to the world in the fight against the Pandemic (COVID-19). Till date, Taiwan has reported 440 cases of SARS-CoV2 with only 7 fatalities, all of this with a population of 23.8 million. It has not reported even a single local case for more than a month and is now actively engaged with the countries around the world in helping them to mitigate the impact of COVID. Its case to be a sovereign and independent country in the world-order has been bolstered by its success and help it has provided, against the virus. Recently, the US with countries like the UK, Germany, Australia and many others, have mulled the case of Taiwan to includeTaiwan into the virtual meeting of the World Health Assembly (executive decision making body of WHO) to be held on 18-19 May, 2020 which attracted criticism from Beijing.
HISTORY OF CONTESTATION
China or People's Republic of China(PRC) considers Taiwan as a part of its territory or as one of its Province, which is vehemently opposed by Taiwan. This contention dates back to the era of the 20th century in the year 1927, when Chinese Civil war started between Kuomintang (founding party of ROC) and Communist party of China (CPC). After the end of the war in 1955, CPC won the mainland China and proclaimed it as People's Republic of China(PRC). The government of ROC fled back in 1945 to a territory given to it by Japan, now called Taiwan. The handing of the territory(Taiwan) by Japan comes into question when neither the PRC nor the ROC was invited in signing of the Treaty of Peace with Japan, 1951 which left the issue of legal status of Taiwan disputed and in ambiguity.
Since then the struggle continues, which got exacerbated in the year 1971, when China won the seat in UNSC under the name of China and expelled the name Republic of China (ROC). From then onwards Taiwan is referred to as Taiwan,China in the international arena.
CURRENT FISSURE
With the world perplexed to fight the Contagion, Taiwan has emerged out of it strongly and has been helping the countries around the World by sending Medical equipment, continuous sharing of knowledge and working in tandem with them. With growing suspicion against Chinese handling of the virus, its current showcasing of Power-Politics and its employing of Soft power Diplomacy by sending medical supplies and helping through money in the form of debts mainly to gain brownie points in the world-order, these activities of China have increased the value of Taiwan as an independent partner to help countries in containing this Virus.
 |
| US President Donald Trump at a White House news conference. |
The way China locked-down its citizens through coercion, it's late sharing of information to the world, and it's continuous efforts of employing Social media to change the narrative has increased the alienations of the world against China , and helped in bolstering the narrative of Democracy V/S Authoritarianism, which is being referred to by some as start of Cold War 2.0 between China and The US. Taiwan here emerges as an ally of The US to fight against China and the Virus hand-in-hand due to which The US passed TAIPEI Act to increase the scope of relationship between The US and Taiwan, and also urged others to do the same . The case of Taiwan's presence in a virtual meeting of the WHA(World Health Assembly) has been advocated by countries like The US, The UK, Germany, Japan, France, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and much has been changed in the international arena in the current scenario due to this. And recently the EU has also issued a statement saying it is working with Taiwanese government's Academia Sinica to develop a rapid test. Also, in a rare move EC leader Ursula Von der Leyen has praised Taiwan for donating millions of masks to help the bloc battle the coronavirus pandemic. All this has worked like a trigger for Beijing, who is continuously telling everyone to stay away from forging diplomatic relations with Taiwan without its permission and warned Taipei that it will not allow them to attend meeting of the WHA unless they accepts One-China Policy.
DILEMMA AHEAD OF INDIA
Taiwan has a contentious political status in the world-order with only 14 out of 193 countries of The UN having formal and diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. India is one of those countries having no formal ties with Taiwan and which is currently struggling to get out of the clutches of Contagion, and has founded itself amidst a dilemma to continue with its old One China policy or to shift and ally itself with Taiwan. India since its independence has followed an optimistic policy on various issues ranging from Tibet to the South-China sea and Taiwan vis-a-vis China.
 |
| Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of BRICS Summit. |
Currently committed to One-China policy , and with Beijing's continuous effort for trying to persuade India to follow its old One-China policy, has made it quite hard for New Delhi to balance the act between China and Taiwan.
THE WAY AHEAD
India has allied itself with China on various issues, and dealt with China moderately in the past on matters like Macmohan line, but to no avail. India has been unable to reap-out the benefits from the informal talks of Wuhan summit and then Mamallapuram summit, and has always been betrayed in one way or the other by China. India's foreign policy has changed with the changing times from non-alignment to strategic alignment to Issue-based alignment, and the decision on this very front needs to be taken with the current global trend in mind.
Taiwan, which is a Democracy will surely be a good ally to India, which also shares the same values and ethos in its political and social realm. India, which is now struggling to contain the Pandemic can get the benefits from the sharing of knowledge of best practices of Taiwan as well as technology sharing with the Taiwanese Healthcare system (One of the best in the world). And the same India which aspires to be Atmanirbhar Bharat and the next supply Chain of the world, will get the benefits from the IT sector, semiconductor technology and 5G technology sector of Taiwan(A main player in these technologies) for meeting its future technological needs. Also it is imperative for India to increase its trade relations with Taipei to explore new avenues for better relations with Taiwanese corporate sector. Further, sending ministers to Taiwan to improve cultural and commerce relationships will help. All this can be done by India without being Defensive in its foreign policy stance.
CONCLUSION
If India wants to ensure a better fight against the virus through sharing ideas and best practices in Indo-pacific region, incorporating Taiwan into the virtual meeting of the WHA would definitely be a welcoming move. Side-by-side It is also a high time for India to acknowledge and change its foreign policy vis-a-vis China, to forge new relationships to decrease its high-dependence on China in the new world-order of Post-COVID times because as Fareed Zakaria puts it ,
" Foreign policy is a matter of cost and benefits, not theology"
No comments:
Post a Comment