Rethinking non-recognition: Taiwan’s new pivot to ASEAN and the one-China policy

Abstract

The article examines the evolution of Taiwan’s engagement in Southeast Asia since the 1990s as a unique case study in international law and international relations (IR). Under the one-China policy, the evolution of bilateral relations with Taiwan highlights the theoretical concept of recognition premised on identity and status in interstate affairs. The article argues that the states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have established diverse forms of recognition of Taiwan in line with a policy of non-recognition. While such recognition has not amounted to recognition of statehood in international law, it demonstrates the IR concept of recognition as a gradual process in state practice. To substantiate the contention, the article examines the diplomatic privileges and immunities that ASEAN countries have accorded to Taiwan. The conclusion of bilateral trade and investment agreements has also galvanized various modes of recognizing Taiwan’s treaty-making capacity and the legitimacy of official cooperation. Hence, the findings not only enrich the study of IR, but also contribute to a broader understanding of the role of China and contemporary Asia–Pacific politics.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 After the US withdrawal, the remaining 11 parties renamed the Trans-Pacific Partnership the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and concluded it in 2018.

2 For the list of dates when diplomatic relations with the PRC were established see (中华人民共和国与各国建立外交关系日期简表) (as of August 2018), <https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/ziliao_674904/2193_674977/>, accessed 10 April 2019.

3 See, for example, Joint Statement of the Meeting of Heads of State/Government of the Member States of ASEAN and the President of the People’s Republic of China Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1997), para 9 and Joint Statement of the 14th ASEAN–China Summit to Commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Dialogue Relations (2011), para 34.

4 The first phase of the Go South policy (1994–1996) covered Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam; the second phase (1997–1999) and the third phase of the policy (2002–2008) extended the scope to include Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Therefore, the six South Asian countries (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan) are new additions in the NSP.

5 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961); note that the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963) stipulates a narrower scope of privileges and immunities in consular relations that are primarily for visa and commercial purposes.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pasha L. Hsieh

Pasha L. Hsieh is an Associate Professor of Law and Lee Kong Chian Fellow at Singapore Management University School of Law. He is the co-editor of “ASEAN Law in the New Regional Economic Order: Global Trends and Shifting Paradigms” (Cambridge University Press 2019). He wishes to thank Professors Bruno Coppieters, Clara Portela, Vjosa Musliu and Scott Y. Lin for their comments and to acknowledge the valuable research assistance of Ning Hsu and Joshua Ng. Email: [email protected]