Decoding Taiwan–Indonesian Partnership Through the Lens of the New Southbound Policy

Decoding Taiwan–Indonesian Partnership Through the Lens of the New Southbound Policy

As a major partner in Taiwan’s Southward engagement with Southeast Asia, Indonesia has been one of the eight priority countries in Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy (NSP) since 2016. This paper focuses specifically on the interplay between Indonesia and Taiwan’s NSP. This paper examines the past development of Taiwan–Indonesia relations and finds that the NSP has fostered cross-sectoral and multi-faceted cooperation between Taiwan and Indonesia, including areas such as economic and investment, healthcare, education, agriculture, and social connectivity. Indonesia is one of the eight priority partner countries for Taiwan’s NSP. This paper argues that the current NSP achievements will also translate into an important driving force for advancing bilateral relations toward the next stage of deepening the NSP (that is, the NSPþ).