India Hits Back After China Asks New Delhi To Cut Ties With Taiwan: 'How Is It Possible? Beijing Itself Trading'

There is no change in India's position on Taiwan and New Delhi has a relationship with it that focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties, news agency PTI reported, citing government sources on Tuesday.

 

The clarification came after Chinese media reported that External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wan Yi on Monday, reaffirmed that New Delhi considers Taiwan to be part of China. “It is learnt that Jaishankar did not make any clear articulation on the Taiwan issue at the talks with Wang. There is no change in our position on Taiwan. We stressed that like the rest of the world, India has a relationship with Taiwan that focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties. We intend to continue it, PTI quoted sources as saying.

According to news agency ANI, India is reportedly questioning the feasibility of not engaging with Taipei, given that Beijing is operating in the same sectors as New Delhi. This development highlights the complexities of India's diplomatic relationships with both China and Taiwan.

“China itself is dealing with the areas that we are - economic, technological, cultural, etc. So how is that possible?” ANI quoted sources Jaishankar as saying that when Yi urged not dealing with Taiwan.

 

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However, an official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs is still awaited. Notably, China is also Taiwan's largest trading partner, accounting for over 20 percent of total trade. China and Hong Kong together account for over 30 percent of Taiwan's export.

The two foreign ministers held wide-ranging talks on Monday shortly after Wang landed in Delhi. In the past, India had endorsed the One-China policy but the formulation has not featured in any bilateral document for the last several years. Though India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic ties, the bilateral trade relations have been on an upswing.

 

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In 1995, New Delhi set up the India-Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei to promote interactions between the two sides and to facilitate business, tourism and cultural exchanges. India-Taipei Association has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport services. In the same year, Taiwan too established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Delhi.

 

(With inputs from agencies)