July 2016 Discussion Report Talking ASEAN Taiwan s New Southbound Policy: Implications for ASEAN
Introduction JAKARTA On Tuesday, 11 July, 2017, The Habibie Center hosted its Talking ASEAN dialogue entitled, Taiwan s New Southbound Policy: Implications for ASEAN at The Habibie Center building in Jakarta. This edition of Talking ASEAN was moderated by Dr. Alexandra C. Chandra (Associate Fellow, The Habibie Center) and featured an expert panel made up of Mr. John Chen (Representative, Taipei Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta), Mr. Doddy Rahadi (Director of Metal Industry, Ministry of Industry) and Ms. Luh Nyoman Ratih Wagiswari Kabinawa (Lecturer Department of International Relations BINUS University). The objectives of this Talking ASEAN were to: (a) find out about the New Southbound Policy and its difference with previous versions of the Southbound Policy; (b) find out Taiwan s initial aims from the New Southbound Policy; (c) discuss Taiwan s hopes and expectations from ASEAN countries in response to the New Southbound Policy; and (d) discuss how the New Southbound policy shall operate in face of diplomatic obstacles. This discussion report summarizes the key points of each speaker, as well as the question and answer session that followed. Recommendation Among the key recommendations that emerged from this particular Talking ASEAN dialogue were: More efforts should be made to enhance people-to-people interactions between Taiwan and ASE- AN Member States. In the case of Indonesia, attention should be made at improving the balance between the number of Indonesian students studying in Taiwan with the number of Taiwanese students studying in Indonesia. ASEAN Member States should look at areas in which Taiwan can offer resources, know-how and skills such as for infrastructure development, shipbuilding, stell, etc. Special attention should be paid to the issue of ASE- AN migrant workers in Taiwan, with greater efforts to prevent them from overstaying and at the same time providing opportunities for them to return home with greater skills and knowledge. 2 Introduction - Discussion Report Talking ASEAN
Presentation
Mr. John Chen Representative, Taipei Economic and Trade Office, Jakarta Mr. John Chen was the first to speak at this event. He started off by emphasizing that the new policy would be more comprehensive than the previous Taiwan Southbound Policy. Mr. Chen started the presentation by outlining two main parts to the presentation: Part 1- Outline of Taiwan s New Southbound Policy and Part 2- The implementation of the New Southbound Policy in Indonesia. Mr. Chen then went on by stating the vision, core concepts, and target countries of this new policy. He pointed out that this new policy aimed to benefit both Taiwan and its target countries which include the ten ASEAN member states, South Asian countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Continuing, Mr. Chen discussed the core framework of the new policy which incorporates first the promotion of economic and trade collaboration by connecting the two domestic-demand markets as well as cooperating together in various infrastructure projects. Secondly, noting Indonesia is made up of around 17,000 islands, harnessing the abundant natural resources it possesses along with the strong labor force is also a key point in the framework of Taiwan s new policy. Thirdly, talent cultivation and exchange through the promotion of sharing human resources such as students and skilled workers is another component of the framework. And finally, forging regional connectivity through strengthening of bilateral and multilateral relationships. The next part of Mr. Chen s presentation showcased how the new policy would be implemented in Indonesia. Mr. Chen commenced by stating that the current relationship between Indonesia and Taiwan are friendly but there is still a lot of space for improvement, as Indonesia is only Taiwan s 14 th largest trade partner and Taiwan is only the 19 th largest source of FDI to Indonesia. On the other hand, people-to-people interactions remain fairly good as Indonesia is the number one source of migrant workers and the third source of foreign students in Taiwan. Furthermore, all of this is in line with Indonesian President Jokowi s current policy priorities. Mr. Chen went on to note that the implementation of the New Southbound Policy in Indonesia was comprised of seven pillars which have resulted in initial mutual benefits as well as opening up opportunities for further cooperation. The first area is investment and industrial cooperation which has led to substantial growth in Taiwan s FDI as well as the amount of Taiwanese companies established in Indonesia. There has not been any real initial results in the second area, infrastructure, but there remains huge potential areas of cooperation in future projects of railways and electrical networks. Additionally, ship building is another big area for cooperation for Indonesia to expand its maritime capabilities. Next is the already expanding area of Aquaculture, with many Taiwanese investors already invested in Indonesia in the fish breeding and seafood processing industries. On the agriculture side there is already a Young Agricultural Ambassador exchange program that involves Taiwan, Indonesia and also the Philippines. Finally, the two most feasible pillars are capacity building and tourism. Already there are substantial scholarships and programs set up for Indonesian students to study in Taiwan which has already led to an increase of students going to Taiwan. Additionally, vocational training centers are also being established which allows more Indonesian workers to gain technical skills. On the tourism aspect bilateral cooperation between the two sides has led to easier visa rules and increased Halal tourism. Mr. Chen ended his presentation by underlining the great strides that Taiwan has made with ASEAN by showing the significant increases in trade volume and the broadened academic cooperation. 4 Presentation - Discussion Report Talking ASEAN
Mr. Doddy Rahadi Director of Metal Industry, Ministry of Industry Ms. Luh Nyoman Ratih Wagiswari Kabinawa Lecturer Department of International Relations BINUS University Mr Rahadi was the next speaker in this event. He began his presentation by also summarizing the initial growth and progress of the Taiwan and ASEAN relationship as a result of the new policy. Also, he cited the opportunity that the steel industry could benefit from as a future area for cooperation. The first fact he mentioned was that Indonesia only produces about eight million tons of steel whereas the national consumption is around fourteen million. This leaves about six million tons of steel that needs to be imported. With Taiwan as the 12th largest steel producer in the world this leaves many open doors for Indonesia to import Taiwanese steel. On the other hand, as steel demand in Indonesia will increase in the years to come it is essential to increase and modernize the country s capabilities in steel production. This is also another area where the Taiwanese can come into play by investing into steel R&D centers as well as manufacturing high grade products that are not available in the region due to the lack of technology. Finally and most importantly is the sharing of knowledge to help Indonesia improve its steel manufacturing technology. Ms. Ratih was the last to speak in this edition of Talking ASEAN. She also started her presentation by highlighting the key points of the new policy in addition to the current state of Taiwan-Indonesia relationship. In addition, she also stated that her presentation would mainly focus on the aspect of people-to-people interactions. On the next slide, Ms. Ratih introduced education cooperation as the most feasible area for cooperation. She pointed out that since the implementation of the new policy she has witnessed more Taiwanese students visit her university (BINUS). Despite this, she does not feel the relationship is that equal because there are substantially more Indonesian students heading to Taiwan than there are Taiwanese students coming to Indonesia to study. Ms. Ratih believes this might be because there is a lack of scholarship money for foreign students to study in Indonesia. She continued by explaining that the visa process for Taiwanese tourists coming to Indonesia is fairly easy because visa on arrivals are offered whereas, Indonesians going to Taiwan are not able to enjoy such facilities. Ms. Ratih realizes that a reason for this might be because of the numerous cases of migrant workers overstay once they are in Taiwan. This led to her next point for cooperation in the area of migrant workers. According to Ms. Ratih the Indonesia and Taiwan need to work together to stop cases of runaway migrants. Additionally, with Indonesia being the number one source of migrant workers for Taiwan there needs to be more training centers set up to enhance industry talent. Moreover, with such a large population of Indonesians living in Taiwan, cultural exchange between the two peoples needs to be promoted. To conclude her presentation, Ms. Ratih summarized the remaining challenges that were standing in the way of further relations. Finally, she also mentioned the she hopes there can be cooperation in important areas that were mentioned in the new policy such as healthcare. Presentation - Discussion Report Talking ASEAN 5
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ABOUT ASEAN STUDIES PROGRAM The ASEAN Studies Program was established on February 24, 2010, to become a center of excellence on ASEAN related issues, which can assist in the development of the ASEAN Community by 2015. The Habibie Center through its ASEAN Studies Program, alongside other institutions working towards the same goal, hopes to contribute to the realization of a more people-oriented ASEAN that puts a high value on democracy and human rights. The objective of the ASEAN Studies Program is not merely only to conduct research and discussion within academic and government circles, but also to strengthen public awareness by forming a strong network of civil society in the region that will be able to help spread the ASEAN message. With the establishment of ASEAN Studies Program, The Habibie Center aims to play its part within our capabilities to the ASEAN regional development. ABOUT TALKING ASEAN Talking ASEAN is a monthly public dialogue held at The Habibie Center in Jakarta. Covering a wide array of issues related to ASEAN, Talking ASEAN addresses topics of: Economic Integration, Socio-cultural, & Democracy, human rights and regional peace, among others. Featuring local and visiting experts, Talking ASEAN is one of a series of twelve dialogues regularly held each month and open to a target audience consisting of ASEAN officials, foreign ambassadors & diplomats, academics, university students, businesses, and the media. PROJECT SUPERVISOR: Rahimah Abdulrahim (Executive Director) & Hadi Kuntjara (Deputy Director for Operations) HEAD OF ASEAN STUDIES PROGRAM: A. Ibrahim Almuttaqi RESEARCHERS: Fina Astriana, Muhamad Arif, Askabea Fadhilla, Agustha Lumban Tobing, Hana Hanifah, Vierna Tasya Wensatama FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION: Mila Oktaviani LAYOUT & DESIGN: Rahma Simamora, Tongki Ari Wibowo ASEAN Studies Program - The Habibie Center The Habibie Center Building - Jl. Kemang Selatan No.98, Jakarta 12560 Tel: 62 21 781 7211 Fax: 62 21 781 7212 Email: thc@habibiecenter.or.id www.habibiecenter.or.id www.thcasean.org facebook.com/habibiecenter @habibiecenter