Global Taiwan Brief Vol. 6, Issue 1 Global Taiwan Brief Vol. 6, Issue1 1 Special Issue in Taiwan-Middle East Relations: An Introduction I-wei Jennifer Chang Uncertainty and Instability: Taiwan-Iran Relations in the Early Cold War Period Li-Chiao Chen Will and Capabilities: The PRC-ROC Imbalance in the Middle East Yitzhak Shichor Reviewing the History of Taiwan-Middle East Relations: Official Relations and Citizen Diplomacy Hsiu-Ping Bao Positioning Taiwan’s Middle East Policy in its National Development Plan Anchi Hoh Turkey’s Policy towards Taiwan: From Cross-Strait Relations to Syrian Refugees Selçuk Çolakoğlu Special Issue on Taiwan-Middle East Relations: An Introduction The Global Taiwan Brief is a By: I-wei Jennifer Chang bi-weekly publication released every other Wednesday and pro- I-wei Jennifer Chang is a research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute (GTI). vides insight into the latest news on Taiwan. Taiwan’s relationship with the Middle East is an understudied topic in academic research and often an invisible issue in policy debates for governments on both sides. Indeed, pol- Editor-in-Chief icymakers in Taiwan and the Middle East, who face diverse sets of internal and external Russell Hsiao challenges, have placed greater weight on their relations with the United States and China Staff Editor in their respective policies rather than prioritizing each other. Historically, Japan was the Katherine Schultz Copy Editor first Asian power in the post-World War II period that made significant in-roads into the Marshall Reid Middle East, motivated by the imperative of acquiring the abundant energy resources nec- essary for economic reconstruction. Since the 1990s,China has emerged as the most con- The views and opinions expressed sequential Asian partner for the Middle East. Initially motivated by similar energy needs in these articles are those of the to fuel its economic growth, Beijing has expanded its interests in the region to include co- authors and do not necessarily re- operation with regional governments on issues relating to peace, security, and terrorism. flect the official policy or position of the Global Taiwan Institute. In this broader context—in which the United States and China constitute key external pow- ers in the Middle East—Taiwan is often an afterthought. However, small and medium-sized To view web sources cited in the countries such as Taiwan and Middle Eastern states are affected by regional and inter- published papers (underlined in printed text), visit https:// national strategic environments shaped by major powers and their relations with them. globaltaiwan.org/2021/01/vol-6- Taipei and Middle Eastern governments have learned of the inherent risks of putting too issue-1/. many eggs in one basket—that is, depending too much on either China or the United States—and thus have adopted hedging strategies. Governments on both sides also un- Global Taiwan Institute derstand the utility of diversifying political and economic ties with other major powers, 1836 Jefferson Place NW, emerging economies, and friendly nations. Washington DC 20036 [email protected] Especially for the Republic of China (ROC), the Middle East has historically been an import- To subscribe, visit ant region to pursue its national interests, including forging economic ties, garnering dip- http://globaltaiwan.org/sub- lomatic support, and escaping international isolation. As early as the 1930s and 1940s, the scribe/. ROC realized the importance of newly independent Muslim countries in the Middle East © 2021 · Global Taiwan Institute Global Taiwan Brief Vol. 6, Issue 1 2 and sent Chinese Muslim delegations to seek their dip- The articles in this special issue have been ordered lomatic support for the ROC’s resistance war against chronologically by historical time periods and also the- Japan. [1] matically starting with diplomatic history, followed by discussions on economic and other relations, and end- During the Cold War, a shared opposition to commu- ing with a case study on Taiwan-Turkey relations. nism united Taiwan and Middle Eastern powers such as Saudi Arabia. [2] Indeed, Saudi Arabia and the Li-Chiao Chen’s article, “Uncertainty and Instability: smaller Arab Gulf countries were a key source of dip- Taiwanese-Iranian Relations in the Early Cold War Pe- lomatic support for the ROC after it lost the Chinese riod,” discusses an early period in the Cold War that Civil War and retreated to Taiwan in 1949. Repelled tested the ROC’s relations with Iran, a complex rela- by China’s communist and atheistic state ideologies tionship between two Asian countries that began with and bound by its strong ties with Taipei, Saudi Arabia a friendship treaty in 1920. Both sides also faced pow- was the last Arab country to recognize the PRC on July erful communist neighbors after World War II. Amid a 21, 1990. [3] One key source of soft power utilized by changing international situation that saw the United the ROC was the installation of Chinese Muslim am- States and the Soviet Union vie for alliances and part- bassadors and diplomats in Middle Eastern countries, nerships—including with Iran—and a growth in the who not only promoted diplomatic objectives but also PRC’s number of diplomatic allies, Taipei grew anxious strengthened transnational religious and cultural ties. about its relations with Tehran. This early Cold War The prime example of this diplomacy was the Chinese period would foreshadow Iran’s eventual decision to Muslim warlord Ma Bufang (馬步芳), who fled with establish formal diplomatic ties with the PRC in 1971. the Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) to Taiwan and later In his piece, “Will and Capabilities: The PRC-ROC Imbal- served as the ROC’s first ambassador to Saudi Arabia ance in the Middle East,” Yitzhak Shichor argues that in the 1950s and 1960s. Even after Taiwan lost several the ROC missed opportunities to build relations with Middle Eastern allies and with the rise of Chinese in- Middle Eastern countries, including Israel, and to con- fluence in the region, Taipei and many Middle Eastern solidate its presence in the region. Taiwan belatedly governments—including Saudi Arabia and the United moved to build unofficial ties with Middle Eastern na- Arab Emirates—continue to forge new avenues of co- tions after it was expelled from the United Nations and operation. [4] lost its diplomatic allies in the region. Shichor points to This special issue on Taiwan-Middle East relations the ROC’s mistake of putting all its eggs in one basket, sheds light on the historical and contemporary de- namely its overdependence on the United States. velopment of Taiwan-Middle East diplomatic rela- In his article, “Reviewing the History of Taiwan–Middle tions and later unofficial relations, challenges posed East Relations: Official Relations and Citizen Diploma- by China’s rise, and the expansion of economic links cy,” Hsiu-Ping Bao argues that the Taiwan-Middle East and people-to-people ties. Furthermore, it delves into relationship has been dynamic and shaped by inter- Taiwanese diplomacy and relations in the Middle East national politics, people-to-people ties, and political and North Africa, including Taipei’s offers to mediate transitions over the past seventy years. Bao discusses third-party conflicts, and how its diplomatic priorities the role of Chinese Muslims in ROC diplomacy towards have changed over time. the Middle East, pointing out that many of Taiwan’s Scholars and experts from the United States, Taiwan, Muslims who studied in Middle Eastern countries later Turkey, and Israel have contributed five articles that became ROC ambassadors to the Middle East and pro- reveal the intricacies of Taiwan’s relations with Iran fessors in Middle Eastern studies in Taiwan. during the Cold War, the ROC-PRC diplomatic compe- Anchi Hoh’s piece, “Positioning Taiwan’s Middle East tition in the region, Taiwan’s diplomatic history and Policy in its National Development Plan,” delves into people-to-people relations, Taiwan’s economic links in the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on the region, and recent developments in Taiwan-Turkey Taiwan’s ties in the Middle East. Taiwan has developed relations. the New Southbound Policy for South and Southeast Global Taiwan Brief Vol. 6, Issue 1 3 Asia, but does it have a regional strategy for the Mid- Uncertainty and Instability: Taiwan-Iran Re- dle East? Hoh points to the need for a more compre- hensive Taiwanese policy towards the Middle East to lations in the Early Cold War Period better respond to challenges from China’s BRI. Hoh By: Li-Chiao Chen argues that closer economic cooperation with the re- gion could also promote Taiwan’s own national devel- Li-Chiao Chen is an associate professor in the Depart- opment goals. ment of History at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan. Selçuk Çolakoğlu’s article, “Turkey’s Policy Towards Tai- Today, Taiwan—formally known as the Republic of Chi- wan: From Cross-Strait Relations to Syrian Refugees,” na (ROC)—has no diplomatic relations with Iran. This discusses the current state of Turkey’s relationship was not always the case. As far back as June 1920, Qa- with both China and Taiwan. He argues that the state jar Iran and the ROC under President Yuan Shikai (袁 of cross-Strait relations during successive Taiwanese 世凱) signed a treaty of friendship that meant to po- presidential administrations has affected Turkey’s cal- litically unite the two Asian countries. [1] Both govern- culations towards Taiwan in each period. While Ankara ments had faced similar challenges, struggling to main- has prioritized political and economic relations with tain their independence and territorial integrity from Beijing, it has also expanded economic and trade ties the onslaught of foreign powers since the 19th century. with Taiwan and cooperated on humanitarian assis- The ROC, led by the Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), and tance for Syrian refugees.