Beijing has raised objections with New Delhi after Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied to a message from Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te, who had congratulated him on leading the National Democratic Alliance to victory in the parliamentary elections in India.
Shortly after extending his congratulations to Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition for their election win and advocating for a positive relationship between China and India, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conveyed Beijing's concerns regarding the interactions between the leaders in New Delhi and Taipei.
President Lai's message to Prime Minister Modi expressed his congratulations on the election victory and emphasized the desire to strengthen the Taiwan-India partnership in various sectors such as trade and technology to promote peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. In response, Modi thanked President Lai for his message and expressed his anticipation for enhanced ties and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.
Beijing reiterated its stance that there is only one China globally, with Taiwan being an integral part of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government emphasized the importance of the One-China principle in international relations and urged India to uphold this principle and resist any political agendas of the Taiwanese authorities. China expressed its concerns to India regarding the exchanges between the leaders.
The One-China policy recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government, formed in 1949 after the civil war. It does not acknowledge the existence of Taiwan (or the republic of Taiwan ), where the nationalist government relocated after the war. India, like many other countries, adheres to the One-China policy by recognizing only the People's Republic of China.
Consequently, India and Taiwan do not maintain official diplomatic relations, and their representative offices serve as quasi-diplomatic missions in each other's capitals. Taiwan aims to expand its informal presence in India, particularly as many Taiwanese technology companies seek to establish manufacturing facilities in the country due to escalating tensions with China. China's actions in the Ladakh region in 2020 prompted calls for India to reconsider its Taiwan policy.
However, the Indian government has not taken any steps in that direction yet. Despite affirming the One-China policy in joint statements with China, India deviated from this stance between 2010 and 2018 due to specific issues concerning "stapled visas" for residents of Jammu and Kashmir. In a separate incident, Air India changed the destination name from "Taiwan" to "Chinese Taipei" on its website in July 2018, which Taiwan criticized as India yielding to unjust pressure from China.
