Firstpost | With Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te set to assume office, China's woes will only exacerbate

With newly elected Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te set to assume office on May 20, there is intense speculation surrounding China’s potential response to the event. In anticipation of an aggressive response, Tsai Ming-yen, Director-General of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, announced on May 1 that island authorities will be implementing measures to strengthen national critical infrastructure. Aiding the island’s overall defence posture, on April 24, United States President Joe Biden has also signed a bill to mobilise $8 billion in defence aid to the Indo-Pacific in general and Taiwan in particular. With neither the US nor China backing down on their respective positions on the Taiwan issue, these developments add fire to the already deteriorating cross-Strait dynamics. Read the full article here.

South Asian Voices | Contemporary Dynamics of an India-Taiwan Partnership

Since India launched its Look East Policy in 1991, India and Taiwan have worked towards building a crucial bilateral partnership. On the technological front, Taiwan is a significant partner for India vis-a-vis sharing of knowledge on development of semiconductors, cybersecurity, and telecom infrastructure. On the economic front, Taiwan is becoming an important destination for Indian migrant workers looking for jobs in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors abroad. To this end, a labor migration and mobility Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on February 16 by heads of the India-Taipei Association and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center, New Delhi. The MoU is intended to make it easier for Indian workers to find jobs in the manufacturing, construction, and agriculture sectors in Taiwan, thereby mitigating Taiwan’s labor shortage and India’s surplus labor problems.  Read the full article here.