Five Members of Knesset from the coalition and the opposition visited Taiwan recently, at the invitation of the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Inter alia, the delegation met with President Tsai Ing-wen, who noted that Taiwan has been building its defense capabilities and is interested in expanding cooperation with Israel, including in the security realm. The head of the delegation, MK Yorai Lahav-Hertzano, said that he hopes for more Taiwanese investments in Israel. When tensions between China and Taiwan are increasing, what is the significance of such a parliamentary visit, and how does it impact Israel-China relations?
Taiwan is a central issue in superpower relations. In China's view, Taiwan is an integral part of China, and their ultimate, inevitable union is a core interest. The US recognizes the “one China” policy, but insists that its realization be by agreement; the US helps Taiwan's security, and maintains ambiguity regarding its response if China tries to promote unification by force. Taiwan avoids unification with China but also avoids declaring independence. A crisis surrounding Taiwan is a central scenario for military planning by the US military on the one hand, and the Chinese military on the other.
In this sensitive realm, Israel treads cautiously, recognizing “one China,” while conducting trade, technology, and cultural relations – but not diplomatic relations – with Taiwan. Since 1993 economic and cultural offices have operated in Taipei and Tel Aviv. Taiwan is one of Israel’s senior trading partners in Asia – last year trade amounted to $2.67 billion, higher than with Japan. These relations are conducted within the parameters accepted by China as well, and include delegations of MKs, who have visited Taiwan almost every year between 2007 and 2019, until the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In light of their singularities, Taiwan and Israel complement each other in the fields of technology and development. Taiwan has a relative advantage in hardware production, and Israel has prominent development capabilities in software and startup companies. Considerable potential for cooperation emerges in the field of chips, where Taiwan is a world leader, and Israel has outstanding capabilities in chip design and engineering.
Israel’s pragmatic strategy here reflects a delicate balance between the realization of economic opportunities and geopolitical sensitivities. If and when a military crisis breaks out around Taiwan, Israel will have difficulty maintaining this space between its major trading partner, China, and its strategic and irreplaceable ally - the United States of America.
Five Members of Knesset from the coalition and the opposition visited Taiwan recently, at the invitation of the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Inter alia, the delegation met with President Tsai Ing-wen, who noted that Taiwan has been building its defense capabilities and is interested in expanding cooperation with Israel, including in the security realm. The head of the delegation, MK Yorai Lahav-Hertzano, said that he hopes for more Taiwanese investments in Israel. When tensions between China and Taiwan are increasing, what is the significance of such a parliamentary visit, and how does it impact Israel-China relations?
Taiwan is a central issue in superpower relations. In China's view, Taiwan is an integral part of China, and their ultimate, inevitable union is a core interest. The US recognizes the “one China” policy, but insists that its realization be by agreement; the US helps Taiwan's security, and maintains ambiguity regarding its response if China tries to promote unification by force. Taiwan avoids unification with China but also avoids declaring independence. A crisis surrounding Taiwan is a central scenario for military planning by the US military on the one hand, and the Chinese military on the other.
In this sensitive realm, Israel treads cautiously, recognizing “one China,” while conducting trade, technology, and cultural relations – but not diplomatic relations – with Taiwan. Since 1993 economic and cultural offices have operated in Taipei and Tel Aviv. Taiwan is one of Israel’s senior trading partners in Asia – last year trade amounted to $2.67 billion, higher than with Japan. These relations are conducted within the parameters accepted by China as well, and include delegations of MKs, who have visited Taiwan almost every year between 2007 and 2019, until the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In light of their singularities, Taiwan and Israel complement each other in the fields of technology and development. Taiwan has a relative advantage in hardware production, and Israel has prominent development capabilities in software and startup companies. Considerable potential for cooperation emerges in the field of chips, where Taiwan is a world leader, and Israel has outstanding capabilities in chip design and engineering.
Israel’s pragmatic strategy here reflects a delicate balance between the realization of economic opportunities and geopolitical sensitivities. If and when a military crisis breaks out around Taiwan, Israel will have difficulty maintaining this space between its major trading partner, China, and its strategic and irreplaceable ally - the United States of America.