On August 5, a delegation from the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) India Center in New Delhi visited DSET to exchange views on economic security, science and technology, AI and democratic governance, and critical minerals. The visit also aimed to explore future cooperation opportunities between Taiwan and India.
The DSET delegation included Dr. Tsai-Ying Lu, Director of the Energy Resilience Research; Min-Yen Chiang, Deputy Director of the Economic Security Research; and Che-Wei Lin, Research Fellow at the Democratic Governance Research.
Akshay Mathur, Director of ASPI India Center, introduced the office’s policy research initiatives, which officially began in 2022. The center’s key focus areas include geoeconomics, international security, climate change, and science and technology. In recent years, ASPI has expressed a strong interest in expanding research collaboration with Taiwan. The delegation’s visit to Taiwan also included participation in the Taiwan-U.S.-India Trilateral Dialogue and the Ketagalan Forum, underscoring their commitment to strengthening ties with Taiwanese counterparts.
DSET welcomed the delegation and highlighted the strong overlap in both institutions’ research interests, expressing enthusiasm for future collaboration.
On geoeconomic issues, both sides shared concerns about the ongoing reshaping of global trade frameworks under the new Trump administration and expressed hopes for further discussions on the evolving Indo-Pacific trade architecture. Regarding critical minerals, ASPI researchers explained that India has designated 32 minerals as strategic and launched the National Critical Mineral Mission to enhance long-term strategic autonomy. DSET noted that Taiwan’s tech industries—especially the drone sector—have been significantly impacted by China’s recent export restrictions on critical minerals, suggesting a strong potential for Taiwan-India collaboration in this area to enhance supply chain resilience.
In the domain of science and technology, ASPI and DSET researchers shared insights from their respective ongoing projects mapping the AI supply chain. Both sides identified national advantages in the AI value chain and discussed the infrastructure needs—such as water and energy—to support AI development. The institutions agreed to deepen exchanges and jointly advance research on industrial cooperation between Taiwan and India.
Information warfare and disinformation were also key topics of discussion. DSET shared insights from the policy analysis of disinformation in the Indian elections, drawing parallels with Chinese influence operations targeting Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election. ASPI researchers echoed these concerns, highlighting how Chinese disinformation continues to shape public opinion in India’s neighboring countries and poses persistent security threats. The two sides compared methodological approaches to studying disinformation and committed to continuing information-sharing and future collaboration.