In Dialogue: Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy and Matej Šimalčík on Taiwan

Central and Eastern Europe’s (CEE) relationship with Taiwan is evolving amid shifting global dynamics.

Dr Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy speaks with Matej Šimalčík, a Taiwan Fellowship recipient currently based at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) in Taipei, to explore the implications of these developments for CEE, Taiwan, and the broader geopolitical landscape.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLFebruary 25, 2025In Dialogue: Taiwan, Central and Eastern Europe, Dr. Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, Matej Šimalčík, 9DASHLINE, Taiwan, China, Russia, Taiwan Fellowship, Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR), Taipei, Robert Fico, Hungary, Slovakia, Donald Trump, CEE, great power rivalry, Europe-Taiwan relations, US foreign policy, Israel, Egypt, development aid, Chinese assertiveness in Europe, Europe, Democratic Progressive Party, polarisation, new US administration, Germany, South Korea, Key US ally, Fico administration, Slovakian society, the West, communist nostalgia, Crimea, Vladimír Mečiar, NATO, Russian hybrid warfare, 2014 annexation of Crimea, Victor Orban, CEE region, Hungarian government, Chinese investment, bridge between the East and West, EV sector., EV sector, German value chains, Eastern Opening, All Azimuth Foreign Policy, Hanoi, Moscow, Beijing, Seoul, Vietnam, strategic partnership with China, Western allies, Brazil, Serbia, Orbán’s Eastern Opening, greenfield investments, hinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Volvo, EV factory, Gotion, Chinese battery producer, Volkswagen, transitioning to EV production, Automative sector, EU-Taiwan relations, cultural exchanges, people-to-people exchange, Slovakian perceptions, engagement with Taiwan, Mask diplomacy, COVID-19, trade and economic security, invasion of Ukraine, Central Eastern Europe, Polarisation, domestic politics, Civil Society, Grassroots, symbolic and substantive cooperation, One China policy, One China principle, PRC, like-minded partners in Europe, Taiwan-Europe relations, Normative power Taiwan? Human rights and Taiwan-EU relations, cooperation with Taiwan, Partners in Peace: Why Europe and Taiwan Matter to Each Other, Central European Institute of Asian Studies, ational Dong Hwa University, diplomatic recognition, deter coercion, grassroots leve, grassroots level, cities and regions, Tsai administration, Sweden, Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, In Dialogue: Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy and Matej Šimalčík on Taiwan

In Conversation with Dr. Enze Han

9DASHLINE’s Southeast Asia Associate Hunter Marston recently spoke with Dr Enze Han about his latest book, The Ripple Effect: China’s Complex Presence in Southeast Asia.

The book provides a nuanced perspective on China’s relationship with Southeast Asia, focusing not just on state-level interactions but also on the significant role of non-state actors, such as businesses and migrants, in shaping regional perceptions of China.

In Conversation9DLJanuary 9, 20259DASHLINE, Enze Han, he Ripple Effect: China’s Complex Presence in Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia, non-state actors, China’s influence in Southeast Asia, Chinese migration, Cold War, Beijing, Beijing’s main goal in Southeast Asia, US-China competition, South China Sea, Thailand’s domestic institutions, Myanmar, Thailand, conduits of Chinese influence, National Unity Government, Myanmar military junta, Cambodia, Chinese criminal syndicates, Malaysia, threat perceptions, low threat perception of china, securitised, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, 2023 State of Southeast Asia, Hunter Marston, Middle East, Donald Trump, Israel, Southeast Asian political elites, criminal networks, CCP, foreign influence, How is Beijing’s influence in Southeast Asia unique?, corporations, Southeast Asian governments, The Ripple Effect: China’s Complex Presence in Southeast Asia, In Conversation with Dr. Enze Han

Taiwan must be cautious in drawing lessons from the Israel-Hamas war

Written by Dr Mor Sobol

In the last few years, amid escalating tensions between Taiwan and China, and the heightened geopolitical rivalry between Washington and Beijing, there has been a noticeable surge in interest from the Taiwanese side — both at official and ‘academic’ levels — in learning from the Israeli experience regarding security and defence.

East Asia9DLFebruary 21, 2024Taiwan must be cautious in drawing lessons from the Israel-Hamas war, Dr Mor Sobol, Israel, Palestine, Taiwan, Israeli-Hamas war, Taiwan's Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, Military strategy, cybersecurity, civil society, China, PLA, Cross-Strait relations

Forum: The Israel-Palestine conflict and the Indo-Pacific

Recent events have again shaken the decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine leading to new unspeakable levels of suffering.

Here, 9DASHLINE brings together a group of experts to provide us with a view from the Indo-Pacific and explore the conflict’s significance for the region.

China’s uncertain future as a global security provider

Written by Lukas Fiala

The key question is whether Xi’s growing assertiveness and inadequacy of existing means to ensure the security of Chinese entities abroad will lead to a more pronounced security footprint over the coming decade, featuring new military base arrangements and, potentially, institutionalised security guarantees.

Faultlines9DLAugust 11, 2023China’s uncertain future as a global security provider, Lukas Fiala, 9DashLine, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Beijing, Global South, security, mediator, Riyadh, Tehran, Middle East, Washington, diplomacy, isolation, COVID-19, pandemic, United States, China’s overseas security strategy, strategy, foreign policy, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping, mediation, peace and security, peace broker, non-state actors, intrastate conflicts, statist approach, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Palestine, security and defence cooperation, Hu Jintao, United Nations peacekeeping (UNPK) missions, South Sudan, Mali, Africa, Latin America, multilateral, Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), military base in Djibouti, Global Security Initiative (GSI), security actor, US-led global security order, global security governance, UN Charter, indivisible security, sovereignty, 1975 Helsinki Accords, Vladimir Putin, NATO expansion, NATO, Russia’s war in Ukraine, Western imperialism, imperial history, Western colonial powers, century of national humiliation, Soviet Union, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), Western hegemony, principle of non-interference, non-aligned movement, Cold War, non-intervention, 干涉, 干预, security provider, Sudan, Libya, ‘Go Out Strategy’ (走出去战略), Chinese state-owned enterprises, natural resources, raw materials, multilateral lenders, development finance, human rights, good governance, 2008 Beijing Olympics, al-Bashir regime, African Union, Darfur, Libyan civil war, People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA), Wolf Warrior Diplomacy, Chinese interests, power projection, security-development nexus, liberal peace, developmental peace, Ethiopia, civil war, Pakistan, South Asia, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Islamic extremism, Islamabad, sovereign lender, arbiter, Abiy Ahmed, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Horn of Africa, Xue Bing, Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Saudi-Iran rapprochement, Iraq, Afghanistan, global war on terror, piracy, Gulf of Aden, 9dashline

COP27 has reopened the Pandora’s Box on ‘fairness in climate finance’

Written by Dr Dhanasree Jayaram and Megna Suresh

Pre-2020 commitments made under the Kyoto Protocol cannot be wished away. Industrialised countries must be made accountable for their obligations to reduce emissions and provide climate finance, which remain unfulfilled.

Western Indian Ocean: The missing piece in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy

Written by Rushali Saha

The Biden administration’s expansion of the geographic definition of the Indo-Pacific to include the entire Indian Ocean, while a positive first step, is merely a symbolic move unless complemented with concrete policy action.

Pacific9DLOctober 13, 20229DASHLINE, Western Indian Ocean: The missing piece in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, RUSHALI SAHA, Indo-Pacific, Indo-Pacific Strategy, Sub-Saharan Africa, White House, Biden, Department of Defense, Central Command, Africa, China, US, US-China, Indian Ocean, United States, Cocos Islands, Keeling Islands, Comoros Archipelago, Red Sea, East Africa, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Asia, Middle East, WIO, energy, Washington, USPACOM, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Quad, South Asia, Afghanistan, Gulf Cooperation Council, Djibouti, hydrocarbons, People Liberation Army Navy, Camp Lemonnier, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Madagascar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Free and Open Indo-Pacific, FOIP, France, India, SAGAR, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, IPEF, Maritime Doctrine, Mozambique, Seychelles, Iran, Indian Ocean Commission, UAE, African Union, blue economy, Sagarmala Project, Delhi, Uganda, New Delhi, Modi, Mauritius, Vanilla Islands, Saint-Denis, Reunion Island, Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund, Trump, Sri Lanka, Israel, National Security Strategy, Diplomat Risk Intelligence, South Asian Voices

Nonalignment’s long shadow: India and the Ukraine crisis

Written by Rohan Mukherjee

The political relationship between India and Russia is unlikely to suffer greatly. Indeed, it will remain an asset if India is to avert the terminal decline and collapse of Russia, which would make it an unviable pole in India’s preferred multipolar world order.

2022: The Quad, AUKUS and the future Indo-Pacific

The reinvigoration of the Quad and the announcement of the AUKUS last year have been a subject of much consternation and debate. While they signal renewed diplomatic energy on Washington’s part, questions remain whether these initiatives will translate to meaningful policy and if they will promote or hinder a coherent Indo-Pacific strategy.

The continuities in Trump’s and Biden’s foreign policies

Written by Richard Johnson

As Biden preaches his commitment to being “ethical, straight, telling the truth, supporting our allies, all those good things”, observers might wish to jot in the corner “France, Afghanistan, tariffs”. The list will likely grow.

Faultlines9DLNovember 1, 2021Biden, Trump, Richard Johnson, 9DASHLINE, AUKUS, EU, European Union, Europe, France, Macron, Japan, Iraq, Afghanistan, JCPOA, Obama, Israel, Pizza, Gina Raimondo, Australia, Blinken, Quad, Hong Kong, America First, NATO

 The Indo-Pacific is calling Israel

Written by Tuvia Gering

If, over the last decade, Israel sought to diversify its global focus away from the US and Europe toward China and India, it now must go a step further and strengthen its integration with Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and ASEAN countries, particularly by normalising relations with Indonesia

Pacific9DLSeptember 27, 2021Tuvia Gering, 9DASHLINE, China, Israel, indonesia, Indo-Pacific, Asia-Pacific, ASEAN, Washington, Pivot to Asia, Blinken, Kamala Harris, United States, US, Australia, Japan, India, EU, European Union, Mossad, Ehud Olmert, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Obama, Jerusalem, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Modi, Doklam, Cyber, Cyber attack, Middle East, America, Covid, COVID-19, COVID19, India-Greece Arab-Med Corridor, and the UAE

India’s defence import embargo: oriented for strategic gains, not self-sufficiency

Written by Shishir Rao

India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently announced a five-year import embargo on 101 defence items beginning in December 2020. The embargo aims to boost the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives promoted by the Modi government.

South Asia9DLSeptember 2, 2020India, Israel, Middle East, South Asia, West Asia

UAE-Israel peace deal: Will India have to choose sides in the Middle East?

Written by Niranjan Marjani

In the past few years, in particular, under Modi’s premiership, India has developed increasingly close ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which has gone beyond the narrow realm of religious connections. India has also been successful in upgrading its relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE to the strategic level.

South Asia9DLAugust 28, 2020India, Israel, Middle East, South Asia, West Asia

A role for India in the Israel-Palestine conflict?

Written by Arkoprabho Hazra

With increasing security ties with Israel, a historic relationship with the Palestinians, and a history of working with the United Nations and other multilateral forums, India is in a unique position to help mediate the Israel-Palestine conflict.

South Asia9DLMay 2, 2020India, South Asia, Modi, West Asia, Israel