India is exploring the possibility of signing a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan, but does not foresee one with China anytime soon, Indian officials said on Monday.
Gautam Bambawale, joint secretary (East Asia) of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, said he did not foresee an India-China FTA within the next two years.
“At this stage of economic relations with China, where China has emerged as India’s largest trade partner, where Indian companies still face issues of market access in China, where Indian companies are still dealing with issues of market regulations of licensing in China, I don’t think the time is right for India and China to enter into a free-trade agreement,” he said.
“But a free-trade agreement between India and Taiwan is a possibility,” he said.
India and Taiwan tasked the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) in Taiwan and the Indian Council for Research and International Economic Relations in January with leading the study, Bambawale said.
He said India’s FTA discussions with South Korea took about two years, while those with Japan took about four years and those with Malaysia about one year, he said.
Bambawale told a delegation of Taiwanese reporters that Taiwan and India have signed a bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement and should be able to sign a customs cooperation agreement in the next month or so and a taxation pact in the next two or three months.
Vishnu Prakash, joint secretary (External Publicity) at the ministry, said New Delhi’s decision had nothing to do with the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) that Taiwan signed with China last year, although India was following the pact closely.
“We take decisions that we want to take … We take decisions in our interest,” he said. “It’s not either or … the Indian Prime Minister [Manmohan Singh] has said it very often ... that the world is large enough … and all countries can be accommodated,” Prakash said.
Bambawale said the ECFA did not have a direct impact on India and Taiwan relations or India and China ties.
“However, as the deal brings China and Taiwan closer together, some of the investment will “obviously flow toward China,” he said.
“We want more Taiwanese -investment in India,” Bambawale said. “I think most Taiwanese businesses, or businesses around the world, don’t want to put all their investments in China. They are looking around for other alternatives to put some of their investments. I think India is a good alternative.”
Commenting on China’s opposition to Taiwan’s efforts to sign FTAs with other countries, Bambawale said whenever China protested, he would reject their protests.
“My stark response to them is as follows: Look, you have had Taiwanese people and Taiwanese industries invest billions of dollars in your country. Why should you protest if they want to invest in my country,” he said. “They have no reply to that.”
Prakash said India was ready to expand economic ties with Taiwan.
“Taiwan is an economic powerhouse. You are a developed country. You have a very strong economy. India and Taiwan compliment each other’s economies, so why not?” he said.
In Taipei, however, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday that now was not the time to engage in official talks on an FTA with India.
“The feasibility analyses carried out by CIER and by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations are different from government-to-government feasibility studies,” a ministry official said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to