ANALYSIS: Another ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ as India, Taiwan Deepen Ties in Face of China Threat

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen arrives at the Reagan Presidential Library in Semi Valley, Calif., on April 5, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

NEW DELHI—Exports from Taiwan to India surged during the first half of 2023, the country’s Ministry of Finance said last week, although overall exports declined significantly. Taiwan’s exports to India rose 12.4 percent, although its exports declined by almost 20 percent overall.

The economic report followed Taiwan’s announcement on July 8 that it will open a new representative office in Mumbai, the Indian financial capital.

The developments signal increasing economic ties between the two countries.

Experts say what has been dubbed a “Milk Tea Alliance” between the two nations is a natural fit, as they face similar threats and can mutually support each other’s interests in the face of growing tension with China. The term harks back to an earlier solidarity movement uniting pro-democracy forces across Asia and beyond.

“There’s much these nations can learn from each other and ways they can provide mutual support,” James Lee, senior adviser to the Taiwanese External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) told The Epoch Times in a written message.

Indian and Taiwan’s bilateral trade increased from $2 billion in 2006 to $8.9 billion in 2021. By the end of the same time period, 106 Taiwanese companies had set up businesses in India, bringing a total of $1.5 billion in investments to the country.

The Mumbai office will be the third representative office for Taiwan in India, joining offices in New Delhi and Chennai.

Due to India’s adherence to the “One-China Policy,” the two countries don’t have diplomatic offices. The Taiwanese missions in India are called the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centers (TECC) while the Indian mission in Taiwan is called the India–Taipei Association (ITA).

The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on July 5 that the new center in Mumbai will further deepen exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

An Inverse Relation

Relations between New Delhi and Taipei rose as the relationship between India and China declined in 2020.

Amid a persistent military standoff with China shortly after the bloody Galwan conflict, India appointed a senior diplomat as its representative to Taiwan for the first time.

Gourangalal Das, former joint secretary for the Americas in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, was appointed head of the India–Taipei Association in July 2020.

In his previous role, Mr. Das had played a key role in arrangements for former U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2020 visit to India.

Dr. Subramanyam Chandrasekharan, director of the South Asia Analysis Group, told The Epoch Times at that time that Mr. Das’s appointment was significant. Picking a senior-level official for the role meant that the interaction between India and Taiwan had “gone to a higher level.”

Aparna Pande, Research Fellow with the Washington-based Hudson Institute, told The Epoch Times that the new center in Mumbai is a logical development, given what has unfolded between India and Taiwan in the last decade.

“Three offices of Taiwan’s representatives--Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai [mean] senior India diplomat[s] in Taipei and greater economic ties,” Dr. Pande said, adding that the development reflects India’s desire to strengthen economic ties with “people who can bring investment and technology to India.”

Gopal Reddy, the founder of Ready for Climate and previously founder and CIO of Chakra Capital Partners, a Boston-based hedge fund, told The Epoch Times in a written message that a closer relationship between the two countries makes natural sense, given their similar economic and political systems, and shared geopolitical concerns.

Mutual Support Sends a Message to China

Experts say there are several key economic areas in which Taipei and New Delhi can provide mutual support and learn from one another.

“On one hand, we have India, renowned for its IT services, software, and heavy industries, and on the other, Taiwan, a powerhouse in semiconductors, hardware, and precision machinery,” said TAITRA’s Mr. Lee.

In addition, Mr. Reddy observed, Taiwan’s expertise in high-precision manufacturing (in semiconductors and electronics assembly) interfaces well with India’s deep labor pool.

Taiwan also has things to learn from India in the current geo-economic context, Mr. Lee said.

“Indian companies have accumulated years of experience dealing with high-interest rates, and with management skills [have cranked] out very profitable global leaders, while Taiwan, typically enjoying some of the lowest rates in Asia, now faces the challenge of managing businesses as global interest rates trend higher,” he said.

Mr. Reddy noted that Western multinationals have been sourcing from Taiwanese companies for many years. Partnerships between Taiwanese and Indian manufacturers will likely provide greater comfort for shifting large-volume manufacturing from China to India.

Dr. Pande said the development sends a message to “China that even if India, like others, accepts the one-China policy, it will build ties with Taiwan,” and “at the same time reduce economic dependence on China.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2nd L) receives flowers from the then Indian Joint Secretary of the Americas Shri Gourangalal Das (2nd R) during Pompeo's arrival in New Delhi on June 25, 2019. In 2020, in a move signifying the rising relationship between the two countries, the senior diplomat was appointed as the Director General of the India–Taipei Association. Jacquelyn Martin/AFP via Getty Images

Another ‘Milk Tea Alliance’

Mr. Lee said the future of the two countries’ relationship is promising and called it another “Milk Tea Alliance.”

With reference to India–Taiwan relations, #MilkTeaAlliance began trending in 2020.

Heavy-handed attempts by China to stop Indian media from reporting favorably on Taiwan’s Oct. 10 national holiday backfired. The hashtag, together with a meme showing Taiwanese and Indian leaders toasting each other with bubble tea and Indian spiced tea, went viral.

The University of Nevada’s Austin Wang and National Taiwan University’s Adrian Rauchfleisch analyzed the online civil solidarity movement in a report (pdf) entitled “Understanding the #MilkTeaAlliance Movement.”

“Observers identified two distinct elements driving this movement: anti-China sentiment and a pro-democracy spirit,” said Drs. Wang and Rauchfleisch in their report, published under the 2021-22 Wilson China Fellowship.

The report analyzed 3 million #MilkTeaAlliance tweets. It found that the online movement started in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma) but was soon joined by netizens from India, Australia, and the Philippines.

Since then there have been several waves of the movement. Mr. Lee used it as an analog for strengthening India–Taiwan relations.

He noted that India stands as the only major country to have successfully banned Chinese apps, while Taiwan possesses the world’s most extensive experience in combating infiltration by the Chinese Communist Party.

No Tiptoeing Around Imaginary Red Lines

Frank Lehberger, a Sinologist and senior research fellow at the Usanas Foundation, told The Epoch Times via text message that increasing economic and trade ties between India and Taiwan are long overdue.

Moreover, he said, India should challenge the One-China policy.

“The best way to get taken seriously by the communists in Peking is to increase political exchange with the Taiwan government. The Japanese do it every day now and the Chinese are not severing any ties or are invading Japanese islands with their military,” he said.

“What Japan can do, India should do with even more ease, as it is a nuclear power.”

Mr. Lehberger said a more assertive India can face an aggressive China better, and Taiwan can help India with that objective.

“Any show of weakness by the Indian government, coupled with accommodating [or] tiptoeing around their imaginary red lines, will only invite more Chinese intransigence and blatant violations of the LAC, not the other way around!” Mr. Lehberger said. The LAC, or Line of Actual Control, is the disputed India–China border high in the Himalayas.