This Saturday, Taiwan’s elections will kick off the 2016 electoral calendar in Asia. As Ms Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will very likely defeat Mr Eric Chu and the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) in both the presidential and legislative races, it is worth analysing the implications for the region, particularly South-east Asia, if Ms Tsai secures Taiwan’s presidency.
At a DPP diplomatic reception last September, Ms Tsai laid out her foreign policy strategy, focusing on South-east Asia.
She announced that “a future DPP administration will pursue a ‘New Southbound Policy’ in the years ahead”, aiming to strengthen Taiwan’s economic and cultural ties with Asean countries and India.