Strategic Appraisal of Taiwan`s New People-Centered Southbound Policy: The 4Rs Approach

Abstract

Taiwan has adopted various regional initiatives designed to shape the strategic, economic, and trade layout in the Asia-Pacific region, leading Taiwan to pursue constructive partnerships and establish mutual understanding with its neighbors. The New Southbound Policy promoted since 2016 is the flagship foreign policy of President Tsai Ing-wen with the purpose of deepening Taiwan`s engagement in ASEAN-led regional communities and networks. Its practice envisages the relations between Taiwan and regional counterparts in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Australia and New Zealand being transformed from a ＂profit-centered＂ to a ＂people-oriented＂ rationale that takes into account practical needs and actions of the region and localities simultaneously. As the Policy has been implemented for over a year, this article adopts the 4Rs approach to examine its development and effectiveness by scrutinizing how the Policy and related initiatives have been promoted and the preliminary results that have been achieved. It concludes by making policy recommendations through a ＂4Ps＂ approach, that is, to boost the momentum of public diplomacy, to making more efforts to explore and consolidate solid partnerships with regional stakeholders, to demonstrate proactively Taiwan`s long-term contribution to the region, and to prioritize institutional links and agreements with regional counterparts.