China expressed strong objection on Thursday to a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing anticipation for closer relations with Taiwan, emphasizing New Delhi should reject Taiwan's "political calculations" as asserted by its authorities.
China's stance on Taiwan remains unchanged, viewing it as a renegade province that must be reintegrated with the mainland, even if necessitating force.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, while commenting during a media briefing in response to a query by a Western journalist on Modi's message, said, "Firstly, there is no such entity as the 'president' of the Taiwan region." She reiterated China's opposition to any official exchanges between Taiwan authorities and nations that maintain diplomatic ties with China, insisting that it is only sovereign of the People's Republic of China, which includes Taiwan.
“As for your question, China opposes all forms of official interactions between the Taiwan authorities and countries having diplomatic relations with China. There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China,” she said.
Mao said that “The one-China principle is a universally recognised norm in international relations and a prevailing consensus in the international community." Mao said, adding, “India has made serious political commitments on this and is supposed to recognise, be alarmed about and resist the Taiwan authorities’ political calculations. China has protested to India about this.”
Modi's remarks came in response to a congratulatory message by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on his electoral triumph. Lai, who was elected Taiwan's President just a few days ago, said that he was looking forward to deepening the Taiwan-India partnership and that there was a lot that could be done together in trade, technology, and many other areas for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
In his response, Modi said “Thank you @ChingteLai for your warm message. I look forward to closer ties as we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership.”
For its part, China has again urged countries to follow the one-China policy and not engage with Taiwan officially.
President Lai, in his inaugural speech on May 20, called for a stop to Beijing's intimidation of Taiwan after the electoral victory of his Democratic Progressive Party, which has called for democracy in the face of rising threats from China.
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