Since she took office, Tsai Ing-wen has embarked on her ambitious 'New Southward Policy' to expand the economic cooperation with Southeast Asian nations and India.

The research team at ANBOUND Consulting believes that one the key goals of the aforesaid policy is to join RCEP, however, given that China have maintained a close economic tie with the ASEAN region, there is no way Taiwan can bypass mainland China.

From ASEAN’s point of view, the importance of service trade outweighs goods trade. In order to avoid upsetting mainland China, ASEAN will only consider Taiwan’s participation in RCEP after Taiwan reaches a consensus with mainland China.

If Taiwan fails to obtain the ‘entrance ticket’ from mainland China, then it is unlikely for Taiwan’s New Southward Policy to succeed.