Taiwan sees India as an important partner as both countries navigate a dynamic Indo-Pacific security and economic environment, says Vincent Chao, Deputy Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council.
Taiwan and India are natural friends and partners; both share a vision for the future, guided by freedom and democracy, he told Bharat Shakti Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale in Taipei.
The relationship should be driven by practical interests, particularly in technology, trade, investment and security, he stressed. “We don’t compete economically, which is great,” Chao said. He described Taiwan as strong in hardware, semiconductors and advanced technology, while India has significant strengths in software.
Chao said Taiwanese technology companies were already expanding their presence in India and expected investments to grow, citing India’s market size, economic growth and geopolitical heft.
Beyond economics, Chao identified cybersecurity and countering disinformation as areas of cooperation. He also pointed to potential collaboration in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and drones.
On defence, Chao outlined Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen its deterrence capabilities. He said Taipei has a target of spending 5% of its GDP on defence by 2030. Taiwan has also shifted towards asymmetric capabilities, expanded training and resumed one-year conscription.
Chao said Taiwan’s security strategy extended beyond the military. “The Chinese have to understand that any action against Taiwan will be met through deterrence from all sectors,” he said, referring to Taiwan’s whole-of-society defence resilience programme. “Our objective is to build sufficient deterrence so that the Chinese leadership never wakes up one day and feels today’s a good day. We never want to give them that confidence, and we are confident that we will be able to achieve that.”
On India-Taiwan ties, Chao said there is much scope for expansion in areas ranging from direct air connectivity and education to energy security and supply-chain diversification.
“The sky is the limit when it comes to the Taiwan-India relationship,” Chao said, adding that sustainable partnerships ultimately depend on finding “commonalities in terms of interest” and making progress on them.
