US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's arrival in Taiwan has led to its ties with China becoming strained; India was keenly watching the developments, although it has not yet commented on them.
India does not have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan as it follows the One-China policy.
In 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, he invited Taiwan’s Ambassador Chung-Kwang Tien, along with Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan Administration to his swearing-in.
While following the One-China policy, India has an office in Taipei for diplomatic functions — India-Taipei Association (ITA) is headed by a senior diplomat. Taiwan has the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi. Both were established in 1995.
Their ties focus on commerce, culture and education. Now in their third decade, these have been deliberately kept low-profile, owing to China’s sensitivities. For example, parliamentary delegation visits and legislature-level dialogues have stopped since 2017, around the time the India-China border standoff happened in Doklam.
Now, amid the tension with China, New Delhi is paying attention to the need to advance India-Taiwan ties.
While speaking to Connected to India, Major General KK Sinha (retd) said after the way the geopolitics is changing of the world, there is a vast realignment of forces taking place, where China has been challenged. China's mission of crossing America and becoming a superpower and probably the only uni popular word and way that things have changed, especially after the Russian invasions, things are changing. A new multi-dimension issues, you know, the actions which is going on all over the world. Things are now entering the Indo-Pacific.
The second issue is why China has to react. The way things are happening and economically they are going down, the bubble seems to be blasted. The Belt and Road initiative is not moving probably sea pact and things like that, you know, where they were thinking that it will go very well, that is getting challenged and it is not going to the right directions. The whole world is getting to stop China and not the hegemonic behavior of the China must be tamed.”
Colonel TP Tyagi, a Veer Chakra awardee, told Connected to India, “China will be highly affected in its crisis with Taiwan. First, the geographical condition of Taiwan and the preparation of Taiwan is such that it will be different from any previous operations taken by China, which the People's Liberation’s Army of China may not be able to accept. Second, the economy of China, which is already taking a downturn will be affected."
He added that after Pelosi's visit, things are changing and it was time for India to take another look at its policy.
"Is China following one India policy? People and nations are thinking in a different fashion, which hitherto was in favor of one China policy. As far as India is concerned, it does follow the one China policy, but of late it has been put in front of them. And we will be asking China now whether they follow a one-India policy whenever there is a conflict or difference between India and Pakistan," he addded.
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