(TibetanReview.net, Oct19’24) –China has on Oct 17 taken exception to India allowing Taiwan to open a representative office in Mumbai, its third in the country, calling it a violation of the “One China” policy essential for maintaining diplomatic ties with it.
China opposes moves by any countries it has ties with to engage in official contacts with Taiwan, the economictimes.com Oct 17 cited Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson, as saying at a regular news conference.
Mao has called on New Delhi to handle Taiwan issues with caution and avoid interference in the improvement of Sino-India relations following the opening of what amounts to another Taiwan de facto consulate in Mumbai, after those in New Delhi and Chennai. Ambassador Baushuan Ger, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in India, and Director General Homer Chang of the new office, attended the reception, said moneycontrol.com Oct 17.
The new office will serve four major western states – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa – as well as the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, the report said.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Chia-Lung Lin recorded a congratulatory video for the event, highlighting the remarkable progress in India-Taiwan relations in recent years, the report added.
The opening of the Taiwanese government’s third representative office in India, known as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center, was reported by Taiwan’s official Central News Agency.
“China has lodged solemn representations with the Indian side,” Mao has said.
The opening came amid ongoing efforts by China and India to ease tensions and resolve conflicts on their Himalayan frontier, a point of contention that has strained bilateral ties. India insists that normalizing the border situation, especially in eastern Ladakh where the two sides have continued to be in a military faceoff since mid-2020, would be prerequisite for normalizing overall ties.
China refuses to withdraw from their eastern Ladakh incursions, made in 2020, but insists the two sides can still have normal ties in other areas.
China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its territory, staged a new round of war games around the island earlier this week after its President Lai Ching-te rejected Beijing’s claim to be the motherland and vowed to defend any armed aggression.
Taiwan rejects China’s assertion of sovereignty over it, including with the claim of the right to speak for and represent the island on the international stage.
“The one-China principle is a serious political commitment made by the Indian side and the political foundation of Sino-Indian relations,” Mao has said.
China urges India to strictly abide by its commitments, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently and properly, and refrain from conducting any form of official exchanges with Taiwan, she has added.
India still adheres to the “One China” policy, despite China not reciprocating it on issues like Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. However, New Delhi has long stopped mentioning this policy in any joint statements during meetings with Chinese leaders.