Chinese influence over authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia poses obstacles for Taiwanese companies: Report

Date:



ANI |
Updated:
October 09, 2022 9:45 PM IST

Taipei [Taiwan]Oct 9 (ANI): As Taiwanese companies in China move to Southeast Asia over fears of a Sino-Taiwan war breaking out, a US think tank said the self-governing island needs to provide companies additional support for research. and Development so that they are able to compete globally.
But Taiwan’s value-driven outreach faces a dilemma in Southeast Asia, where democracy is retreating in countries from Cambodia to Myanmar and where authoritarian regimes often turn to Beijing in exchange for political patronage, Nikkei Asia reported.
According to the survey conducted by the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) of more than 500 Taiwanese corporate executives, more than a quarter (25.7 percent) of the companies surveyed with business in China they had already shifted some of their production or out of China and another third were considering doing so, Nikkei Asia reported.
The survey released this week also indicated that of those who moved, a substantial majority (63.1 percent) were heading to Southeast Asia, but just over half were moving part of their business to Taiwan.
“There is no doubt that the New Southbound Policy was timely given the cost and reliability issues we have increasingly seen doing business in the PRC,” said Chen Kuan-ting, CEO of Taiwan Next Gen. Foundation, a company based in Taipei. think tank, Nikkei Asia reported.
In 2016, President Tsai launched her flagship foreign policy in Asia, dubbed the New Southward Policy (NSP), referring to Taiwan drawing closer to its neighbors and partners in the south and diversifying out of the Chinese market, he reported.
Tsai’s initiative prioritizes Taiwan’s people-to-people, trade and investment relations with countries in Southeast and South Asia and beyond.

The CSIS survey also revealed that experts believe that China does not have a coherent internal strategy or roadmap to achieve peaceful unification with Taiwan.
China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, has held military exercises in the island nation after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei in August.
CSIS conducted the survey with 64 leading experts on the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan and cross-strait relations for opinions on China’s game plan that began after Pelosi visited Taiwan, Nikkei Asia reported.
The findings show that most US experts believe that China does not have a coherent internal strategy and road map to achieve peaceful unification with Taiwan.
As 80 percent of those surveyed have said they do not believe that Beijing has “a coherent internal strategy and roadmap, with concrete milestones and actionable next steps, to achieve peaceful unification with Taiwan.”
CSIS noted that this is likely related to “China’s inability to win the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese government and people” and the collapse of the “one country, two systems” model offered by Beijing after it revoked its promises. autonomy in Hong Kong. .
Elbridge Colby, one of the respondents and author of “The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict,” told Nikkei Asia: “Beijing will be willing to permanently accept the status quo if the alternative is humiliating failure. “
Noting that Beijing probably does not have a “deadline” to resolve the Taiwan issue and is flexible in its approach, Colby said there is a possibility that China could engage in an amphibious invasion of Taiwan within the next 10 years.
“If the United States, Taiwan and Japan neglect the threat, I think the risk will be much higher. I think if we prepare to defend Taiwan, the risk will be much lower,” he was quoted as saying by Nikkei Asia. (AND ME)

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