Taiwan has proven its competency in containing the second outbreak of COVID-19, which was caused by the Delta strain of the virus. Daily cases in Taiwan were quickly brough under control from more than 400 in late May to just seven at the end of September — and even hit zero for the first time in 193 days on 19 October. COVID-19-related restrictions are being relaxed with conditional re-openings.
While Taiwan seems to have kept the pandemic under check, Vietnam has been scrambling to contain a severe Delta outbreak since late April. The number of cases in Vietnam surged dramatically from a few thousand in April to over 896,000 cases and 21,800 deaths as of 27 October. At the same time, Taiwan’s first dose vaccination rate has surpassed 69 per cent of the population, whereas only 55.7 per cent of Vietnam had received at least one dose.
Given Vietnam’s COVID-19 pain, Taiwan has an opportunity to further President Tsai Ing-wen’s ambitions to make Taipei’s pandemic control successes the basis of a renewed international assistance agenda.
Taiwan could offer medical and healthcare assistance to Vietnam on the basis of the One Country, One Center framework, one of the five pillars of the New Southbound Policy launched in June 2018. Pharmaceutical support and experience treating COVID-19 patients are things that Taiwan could assist with. Taiwan could also offer Vietnamese medical professionals virtual training workshops and telecare used for handling COVID-19 challenges.
In August, Taiwan donated 300 oxygen concentrators to Vietnam. Taiwan might need to step up its effort to assist Vietnam with COVID-19-related training programs, health consultation services and smart medical facilities, given Vietnam’s current shortage of medical assistance and equipment.
Facing a scarcity of COVID-19 vaccines, the Tsai administration has made locally developed vaccines a priority. On 19 July, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration approved the emergency use of Taipei-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (MVC)’s COVID-19 vaccine. More than 1.3 million people in Taiwan have registered to get inoculated with the domestic vaccine.
Taiwan’s homegrown vaccine opens a window of opportunity for using ‘vaccine diplomacy’ to leverage its status. Taipei’s export of vaccines to Vietnam seems to be a matter of safety and recognition: the MVC vaccine entered phase two clinical trials in Taiwan and Vietnam, with data ‘looking quite good’. Taiwanese health authorities said antibodies created by the shot were ‘no worse than the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine jabs that the public have received’.
Last year, MVC and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology — a division of Vietnam’s Ministry of Health — signed a cooperation agreement in which Vietnam and Taiwan agreed to jointly conduct phase two clinical trials of the MVC COVID-19 vaccine. This ongoing cooperation provides leverage for Vietnam’s approval of the Taiwan-made MVC vaccine.
The crucial task for the Taiwanese government is to enhance international trust in the MVC vaccine and fight misinformation campaigns. Then, the Tsai administration should contemplate donating MVC doses to Vietnam when Hanoi approves its use.
But Taiwan’s vaccine aid to Vietnam will not be likely unless Taiwan first vaccinates its own population. China could also derail Taiwan’s vaccine diplomacy efforts. To Chinese authorities, Vietnam’s reaching out to Taiwan on healthcare assistance may be read as a violation of the ‘one-China policy’, which Hanoi is committed to.
Vietnamese leaders may find it unwise to upset China, given their comradeship ties. But with its worsening COVID-19 situation, Vietnamese leaders may seek to prioritise the safety of the Vietnamese people and cement their political legitimacy while labelling Taiwan’s support as a form of non-traditional cooperation. China’s intimidation in the South China Sea has strained the Sino-Vietnam relationship, lessening Vietnam’s concerns about offending China through cooperation with Taiwan on the pandemic.
In September, concurrently with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Vietnam, Hanoi hosted Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi to sign a defence transfer accord and discuss ways to boost bilateral defence cooperation amid Beijing’s growing maritime clout.
Taiwan could support Vietnam against COVID-19 through sharing the ‘Taiwan Model’. This would include providing health and medical equipment and techniques, offering assistance in areas ranging from social support for quarantine and lockdown, methods for improving the capacity of remote working, the protection of workers’ safety and wellbeing, and making Taiwan’s vaccine diplomacy work in Vietnam.
The Tsai administration’s statecraft, coupled with Vietnam’s determination and flexibility, may help Hanoi lessen the pandemic’s socio-economic impacts and further elevate Vietnam-Taiwan relations. But the two sides should run their cooperation calmly and quietly rather than trumpeting it at China.
Huynh Tam Sang is Lecturer in the Faculty of International Relations at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City and Research Fellow at Taiwan NextGen Foundation.
Phan Van Tim is Research Assistant in the Center for International Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.