Taipei: Former Interior Minister Lin Yu-chang said during an online webinar Wednesday that there is significant potential for cooperation between Taiwan, India, and the Philippines in renewable energy development.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security (IIPS) hosted a virtual event titled "Powering Energy Security and Resilience: Shared Challenges, Local Solutions," featuring Lin, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Philippine Embassy in the United States Felipe F. Cari±o III, and Indian energy expert Debajit Palit as panelists. Lin, who is currently an IIPS visiting fellow, emphasized the mutual benefits that Taiwan, India, and the Philippines could gain from collaboration in renewable energy.

Lin highlighted India's rapid expansion in renewable energy deployment, particularly in solar power, energy storage systems, and large-scale manufacturing capacity. He pointed out India's advantage in its abundant rare earth resources, which could support manufacturing capacity for the solar industry and serve as an alternative to China-centered supply chains, a need for Taiwan.

Regarding the Philippines, Lin noted the shared vulnerability to natural disasters like typhoons, making resilience a priority for both Taiwan and the Philippines. He stressed the opportunities for cooperation on distributed renewable energy systems, such as microgrids, rooftop solar installations, and battery energy storage systems, which can function independently when the main power grid is disrupted.

Lin further stated that cooperation between Taiwan, India, and the Philippines in renewable energy extends beyond clean energy transition to building resilient energy systems for the future. Meanwhile, Cari±o expressed the Philippines' commitment to expanding renewable energy, suggesting that Taiwan and India could be ideal partners in offshore wind development. He mentioned the Luzon Economic Corridor initiative, inviting Taiwanese and Indian partners to contribute to economic transformation and workforce skill upgrades.

The IIPS, a non-partisan think tank based in Arlington, Virginia, focuses on U.S. foreign policy and security issues in the Asia-Pacific region, with particular attention to China and Taiwan.