On June 6, the spokesperson of the Chinese embassy posted on X claiming that Taiwan is an inalienable part of People’s Republic of China. It emphasized on its so-called One-China principle that has been allegedly accepted worldwide along with a “prevailing consensus in the international community.”
Taiwan’s heartfelt congratulation to PM Modi
As the news of PM Modi’s win in the 18th General Elections spread worldwide, “congratulations” showered from country heads across the globe. Ally country Taiwan also extended its heartfelt congratulation to the PM for the third successive win. Taiwanese President Lai Ching-Te posted on X and shared his enthusiasm towards the “fast growing India-Taiwan partnership” and expand their “collaboration on trade, technology and other sectors to contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
In return, the Indian Prime Minister responded with warmth and said he looked forward to building closer ties between India-Taiwan.
Thank you @ChingteLai for your warm message. I look forward to closer ties as we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership. https://t.co/VGw2bsmwfM
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 5, 2024
India-Taiwan relations
With the “Look East Policy,” India and Taiwan started building closer ties and loosen visa restrictions. In 1995 the two countries established representative offices in each other’s capitals, namely Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India (TECC) for ROC (Taiwan) in New Delhi and India-Taipei Association (ITA) for India in Taipei.
From $265 million trade value in 1995 to $8.24 billion in 2023, their total bilateral trade has expanded exponentially. Currently, India is 16th largest trading partner for Taiwan. Taiwan’s exports to India reached 6.013 billion US dollars, marking a 13% growth and positioning India the 12th largest export market for Taiwan. On the import side, Taiwan imported goods worth 2.211 billion US dollars from India, a decrease of 29.62% than 2022. India stands as the 25th largest import source for Taiwan.
Of late, the two countries are aiming to develop a semiconductor deal. In February, the Union Cabinet under the Modi leadership had approved the country’s first semiconductor fab to be made by the Tata Group in collaboration with Powerchip Taiwan. The semiconductor fab will come up in Dholera with a capacity of 50,000 wafers per month. This will significantly boost the Indian economy and strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Contention with China
Taiwan’s contention with China dates back to 1949, with a civil war in China that forced then-leader Chiang Kai-shek to flee China and settle in Taiwan. Chiang established dictatorship rule over the 1.5 million population for the next 31 years. After his death, Taiwan shifted to a democratic government and held its first democratic elections in 1996.
But till date, Taiwan’s status as a sovereign country is conflicted. This conflict resulted from China’s representation at the UN. Initially, the exiled ROC government under Chiang claimed seat at the UN. But by 1970’s concern over the representation of mainland people of China erupted worldwide. Subsequently, in 1971, the UN switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
Since then the number of countries that recognise the ROC government has fallen drastically with only 12 countries recognising the island today. Additionally, China exerts considerable diplomatic pressure on other countries not to recognise Taiwan.
Presently, the tensions between the two countries have escalated so much that China is threatening to attack Taiwan. Two weeks ago, the dragon country conducted “military exercises” around Taiwan to caution them of the repercussions for their “separatist acts.”
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Why does India’s closer ties with Taiwan hurt China ?
Submitting to the Chinese pressure to sever ties with Taiwan, countries preferably do not maintain bilateral relations with China and Taiwan simultaneously. But India has chosen to navigate through the hard waters and counterbalance its strained diplomatic ties with China with stronger bilateral relations with Taiwan.
India’s emergence as an incoming global superpower and the ability to dominate the international political landscape is a concern for China. On top of it, the presence of a strong support that India lends out to the Taipei government will likely cause inconvenience to China’s attempt to unite Taiwan. The development of strong brotherhood between India and Taiwan has subtly sidelined the “One China Principle.”
In its recent tweet, it attempted to remind India of its commitment to the One-China Principle and “ is supposed to recognize, be alarmed about and resist the Taiwan authorities’ political calculations.”
