India should sign free trade agreement with Taiwan to advance in semico

New Delhi: Taiwan is keen to share its expertise with India in the advanced fields of semiconductors, 5G, information security and artificial intelligence. This will enable India and Taiwan to build a robust supply chain together. That is why India should sign a free trade agreement with Taiwan at the earliest. Taiwanese representative Baushuan Ger has made an attractive proposal and said that this would remove trade barriers between India and Taiwan and allow Taiwanese companies to invest in India and set up factories. With China’s fighter jets regularly entering Taiwan’s airspace, this proposal from Taiwan seems to be a test of India’s foreign policy.

A few days ago, China’s ambassador to India and the Chinese embassy spokesperson demanded that India follow the ‘One China Policy’. The Chinese embassy spokesperson had also expressed displeasure over the Indian media, saying it was looking at Taiwan as an independent country. There is only one China and Taiwan is also part of China, the spokesperson for China’s embassy in India warned. China has had to consistently make India aware of this, as India has initiated moves to strengthen its cooperation with Taiwan. In particular, Indian companies are cooperating with Taiwanese companies to produce semiconductors, and projects are being set up in India.

In such a situation, representative Baushuan Ger, acting as Taiwan’s ambassador to India, once again proposed a free trade agreement with India. The free trade agreement will pave the way for Taiwanese companies to invest heavily in India by removing trade barriers between India and Taiwan. Due to this, Taiwanese companies will set up their factories in India. Moreover, Taiwanese companies will sell their products made in India worldwide, Baushuan Ger added. Ger has also claimed that this will enable India and Taiwan to build a strong supply chain. Taiwan is keen to share its expertise with India in areas emerging as future technologies such as semiconductors, 5G, information security and artificial intelligence. But the Taiwanese representative also pointed out that this cooperation will not gain the desired momentum without a free trade agreement.

Even earlier, Baushuan Ger had presented such a proposal to India. By saying that the threat posed to the democratic countries of India and Taiwan was the same, Ger had criticized China’s expansionist policies without mentioning them. Baushuan Ger had said that the cooperation of India and Taiwan is a must given this threat.

China’s fighter jets are intruding into Taiwan’s airspace and the situation is such that a conflict will break out at any moment. The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, visited Taiwan and openly challenged the ‘One China Policy’. An enraged China then increased the intrusion of its warplanes into Taiwan’s airspace. Leaders of the United States, Japan, and Taiwan are alleging that the Chinese Navy is planning to corner Taiwan. In such a situation, Taiwan is proposing a free trade agreement with India and the decision in this regard will not be limited only to trade cooperation. India’s policy regarding China will be linked to the free trade agreement with Taiwan. Therefore, even though India has taken steps toward cooperation with Taiwan, deciding on a free trade agreement with Taiwan can be a sensitive issue.

There are indications that the dispute between India and China on the border in Ladakh has started to subside. China’s diplomatic officials indicate that the dispute may flare up again if India adopts an aggressive stance towards Tibet and Taiwan. At the same time, India will not gain anything by trusting a dangerous country like China. On the contrary, China will learn a proper lesson if India cooperates with Taiwan and establishes solid economic cooperation. Because even if this cooperation is not established, some strategic analysts say that China will not give up its anti-India policy.