EU –Taiwan Relations in the Evolving Indo‐Pacific Context

ABSTRACT

This policy article examines EU–Taiwan relations in the context of the Indo‐Pacific by assessing the perceptions and opinion of 15 people heavily involved in Taiwan's foreign policy‐making, ranging from officials, industrialists and academics. Taiwan occupies a unique and critical position in the Indo‐Pacific: A democracy committed to multilateralism and a like‐minded partner to the EU, yet one whose sovereignty remains internationally contested under the One China framework. Despite viewing the EU positively as a normative and economic powerhouse, Taiwanese respondents demonstrated nuanced assessments shaped by a tripartite perception gap, the pervasive ‘China factor’ and the post‐Ukraine shift in EU strategic posture. Green transition and sustainability emerged as the top priorities for cooperation, followed closely by security‐related domains. Four policy recommendations follow: managing the China factor wisely; finding new means to institutionalise the relationship; deepening cooperation between epistemological communities; and closing the perception gaps that hamper effective EU–Taiwan engagement.