The Chinese ideas of rewriting the international security rules are most destined to fail, as the premiere intelligence agencies in the UK and USA have started taking action.

New Delhi Dec 19 PTI India and Taiwan have started negotiations for a free-trade agreement and setting up a semiconductor manufacturing hub in an Indian city signalling their resolve to further expand the two-way economic engagementIf the move to create the semiconductor manufacturing plant succeeds it will be only the second such facility by Taiwan in a foreign country after its production hub in the United States people familiar with the development saidThe Indian government has already proposed a number of sites for the facility and one of Taiwans leading semiconductor producers including the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company TSMC and the United Microelectronics Corporation UMC may implement the mega project they saidTaiwan is a major player in the production of chips globally According to industry estimates the TSMC manufactures around 50 per cent of all semiconductors globallyThere is a strategic significance of attempting to firm up the FTA and to set up the semiconductor hub said one of the people cited aboveTaiwan considers itself a sovereign state However China claims Taiwan as part of its territoryThe move to set up the facility comes amid increasing demands for chips in India by automakers and technology companies among others when there is a global shortage of chipsThe people said the proposal to set up the semiconductor hub is largely driven by the strategic significance of the ties between India and Taiwan rather than the commercial aspect of itThe semiconductor plant in the US was set up in the reflection of the close strategic ties between the two sides It will be the same in Indias case as well said one of the people cited aboveThe US has been steadfast in its outreach to Taiwan in the face of increasing Chinese hostilities and reassuring Taipei of its continued supportThe government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to provide incentives worth Rs 76000 crore to encourage the setting up of semiconductor design manufacturing and display fabrication fab units with a larger goal of making India a global electronics production hubIn sync with their keenness to expand economic engagement India and Taiwan have already held two rounds of talks for firming up an FTA as well as a bilateral investment agreement to boost trade ties the people saidIndia has been promoting its ties with Taiwan in the areas of trade investment tourism culture education and people-to-people exchangesThe cooperation in the areas of trade investment and industry between India and Taiwan has been on an upswing in the last few yearsThe volume of bilateral trade has grown nearly six-fold from USD 119 billion in 2001 to almost USD 705 billion in 2018 and India ranks as Taiwans 14th largest export destination and 18th largest source of imports according to official dataBy the end of 2018 around 106 Taiwanese companies were operating in India with the total investment amounting to USD 15 billion in the fields of information and communication technology medical devices automobile components machinery steel electronics construction engineering and financial servicesThe two sides have also set up teams for further expansion of ties in education as well as skill development trainingAt present an estimated 2800 Indian students are studying in TaiwanIndia does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but both sides have trade and people-to-people tiesIn 1995 New Delhi set up the India-Taipei Association ITA in Taipei to promote interactions between the two sides and facilitate business tourism and cultural exchangesThe ITA has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport servicesIn the same year Taiwan too established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Delhi PTI MPB RC

Tokyo [Japan], November 23 (ANI/Sputnik): The government of Japan is planning to allocate approximately 600 billion yen (about USD 5.2 billion) as part of an additional budget for fiscal 2021 to support the construction of semiconductor manufacturing plants, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Tuesday.