In September 2015, Democratic Progress Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen unveiled the "new southward policy" as part of her policy platform. Under the policy, a task force focusing on strengthening relations between Taiwan and South and Southeast Asian nations would be set up, she stated. The policy would be broader than the previous DPP administration's "go south policy," which was designed to encourage Taiwanese enterprises to increase their investment in Southeast Asian countries. The "new southward policy" would not be confined to trade and investment but would also include people-to-people, cultural, educational, research and other types of exchanges, Tsai pointed out.
Days before being sworn in as the new ROC president, Tsai announced that a New Southward Policy Office would be established under the Presidential Office after she assumed office. In her inaugural address on May 20, 2016, Tsai again stressed the importance that her administration would place on enhancing multi-faceted relations with South and Southeast Asian nations.
James Huang, former director of the DPP's department of international affairs, who will head the new office, has also stated that the policy will be more expansive than the former "go south policy" by aiming to boost ties across a wide range of areas, including tourism, talent cultivation, and so on. He has also noted that more than 20,000 citizens of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states married to ROC nationals and over 50,000 workers from the region currently reside in Taiwan, providing the island with an advantage in its efforts to strengthen its partnership with ASEAN.
In the near future, a national ASEAN and South Asia Reach Center will be set up in Taiwan under the policy, which was launched upon the Tsai administration taking office.