John Chen (陳忠), head of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO) in Indonesia, shares thoughts on ties between Taiwan and Indonesia under the New Southbound Policy (NSP).
The NSP, launched in 2016, strengthens Taiwan’s ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia, and New Zealand. What has been the initiative’s impact on Taiwan-Indonesia relations?
John Chen: The numbers speak for themselves: in the decades prior to the NSP, the two sides inked 30 agreements and memorandums of understanding, but within six years of the policy’s implementation, roughly 25 pacts were signed on cooperation across a wide range of areas.
Economic interaction has also heated up. Since 2016 the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta and its Indonesian counterpart in Taipei City have met regularly to discuss investment, trade and industrial cooperation, and in 2017 the first edition of the Taiwan-Indonesia Industrial Collaboration Forum took place.
John Chen, head of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia and Taiwan’s representative to the country (Courtesy of Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia)
Economic exchanges aside, in which areas have Taiwan and Indonesia drawn closer?
Chen: Agricultural cooperation has yielded particularly fruitful results thanks to the Taiwan technical mission’s work with Indonesian farmers over the past 47 years. Our two countries also signed an agreement in 2019 that sends young Indonesian agricultural workers to Taiwan on yearlong internships. More than 100 youths have been trained on farms across the country.
Personnel exchange is a major facet of the NSP. That’s why TETO has accelerated the establishment of Taiwan Education Centers [TEC], which promote Taiwan’s universities to Indonesian students and facilitate exchanges between schools on both sides. Three such centers are now operating in Jakarta, Surabaya and Yogyakarta on the island of Java.
At present more than 16,000 Indonesians are studying in Taiwan, up from 5,074 in 2016. The country is now Taiwan’s second-largest source of international students, and the number is set to grow. In March an exhibition on Taiwan’s tertiary education toured the three cities hosting TECs, attracting more than 10,000 students.
How can Taiwan further consolidate its friendship with Indonesia, especially amid current geopolitical challenges?
Chen: As Taiwan’s relations with Indonesia progress, China is highly likely to double down on interference. However, we’ve already cultivated considerable goodwill among the Indonesian people. In line with the people-oriented spirit of the NSP, we’ll continue helping friends from farmers to students meet their full potential. United, we can defy Chinese attempts to obstruct the development of our relationship.
Taiwan relies on humanitarian assistance like agricultural projects and educational exchanges to foster closer ties, which I believe is more effective than China’s strategy of building infrastructure. Moving forward, we’ll encourage greater media cooperation and broaden the scope of our sharing to include Indonesian think tanks and nongovernmental organizations, with the ultimate goal of developing a solid network of close connections that will ensure a strong and enduring partnership.
Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw