Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy bets on Myanmar

Taiwan’s government led by Tsai Ing-wen has over the past few years stepped up efforts to engage with Myanmar and the rest of Southeast Asia to counter China’s strategy of diplomatic isolation.

The Myanmar Times
Date: 21 Dec 2019
By: Andrea Passeri

The island country has been increasingly cornered by China, which has sought to steadily erode Taiwan’s international allies by pushing countries like the Solomon Islands and Kiribati to switch their diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.

Under Tsai’s New Southbound Policy (NSP), Taiwan endeavours to nurture a series of quasi-official relations with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to break free from China’s encirclement and diversify its network of informal partnerships.

Since the NSP’s launch in 2016, both the Taiwanese government and business community started to devote unprecedented attention to Myanmar, following decades of substantial neglect. The goal of making inroads in what is often referred to as Asia’s “last investment frontier” has been pursued through several important milestones, such as the strengthening in early 2016 of Taiwan’s consular services in the country through the creation of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office located in Yangon.

This move has certainly contributed to fuelling a promising increase in terms of bilateral trade, which in 2018 hit an all-time record of US$343 million.    [FULL  STORY]