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‘For substantive ties’: Taiwan plans to set up representative office in Mumbai.
Jul 06, 2023

Taiwan on Wednesday announced plans to enhance its official presence in India by setting up a new representative office in the financial hub of Mumbai, taking the number of such facilities in the country to three.

India and Taiwan, which don’t have formal diplomatic relations, first established representative offices in each other’s capitals in 1995. Besides the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi, Taiwan set up an office in Chennai in December 2012.

India currently has the India-Taipei Association (ITA) office in Taipei. These facilities on both sides function as de facto missions and are responsible for promoting cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, education, and science and technology.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the establishment of a TECC in Mumbai is aimed at further advancing 'substantive ties' with India and deepening exchanges and cooperation.

'In recent years, cooperation between [Taiwan] and the Republic of India has witnessed significant progress in numerous domains, including economics and trade, science and technology, critical supply chains, culture, education, and traditional medicine,' the statement said.

Taiwan’s move comes at a time when India’s ties with China have been taken to their lowest point in six decades by the three-year-old military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In recent years, the Indian side has sought to woo Taiwan’s semiconductor majors as part of efforts to create chip manufacturing capabilities.

People familiar with the matter said Taiwan had raised the issue of setting up an office in Mumbai more than two years ago following a significant increase in trade ties in central India. Taiwan’s announcement was unlikely to have been made without the concurrence of the Indian side, they said.

The office in Mumbai is expected to begin functioning by the final quarter of 2023 as Taiwan needs to find suitable premises and hire local staff, the people said.

Since the TECC in Chennai was set up in 2012, nearly 60% of all Taiwanese businesses investing and opening factories in India have chosen to develop operations in the southern part of the country, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said. Chennai and its surrounding areas have benefited from investments by Taiwanese manufacturing industries and the new TECC in Mumbai is 'expected to have a similar effect in western India', the statement said.

'The TECC in Mumbai will help expand mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities between Taiwan and India. Under Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, it will also promote exchanges and cooperation in science and technology, education, culture, and people-to-people ties...,' the statement added.

The office in Mumbai will provide visa services, document authentication and emergency assistance to businesspeople, tourists and Taiwanese nationals in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry also pointed to India’s emergence as a major investment destination for global enterprises and noted that many countries have a diplomatic presence in Mumbai.

China has traditionally bristled at Taiwan’s activities in India, and the Chinese embassy in New Delhi once even issued guidelines for Indian journalists regarding reporting on Taiwan’s national day. The Chinese side had sought a reaffirmation of India’s adherence to the 'One China' policy when tensions peaked in the Taiwan Strait in August 2022 following former US speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.

At the time, the external affairs ministry avoided any mention of the 'One China' policy while opposing unilateral actions to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. India stopped referring to the policy in official documents around 2010 in response to China’s insistence on issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.

hindustantimes.com

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