India remains tight-lipped on Pelosi's visit to Taiwan

By Our Special Correspondent

India on Wednesday maintained a studied silence over US Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial visit to Taiwan amid deep anger in China, which took little time to scramble jets over the Taiwan Strait.

While Beijing is a major irritant for New Delhi, India's decision to stay cool comes from developments in Taiwan, which as part of the Quad (along with the US, Australia and Japan) is taking strong steps to counter China's aggressive posture. Indo-Pacific.

Like the US, India is also following the One China policy. However, Pelosi's visit to Taiwan is a break from that. After the separation of China and Taiwan in 1949, the One-China policy recognizes only China and not the existence of Taiwan.

India also refused to reaffirm the One China Policy in 2010 after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India. India is fed up with China issuing 'stapled visas' to Jammu and Kashmir residents to travel to China instead of regular visas. However, due to this and the tension around LAC, India chose not to comment on the episode as any comment could further escalate tensions,” sources said.

Meanwhile, India is continuously engaged with Taiwan and focused on strengthening trade. After the Galwan clashes in 2020, Gaurangalal Das (then Joint Secretary (US) in the Ministry of External Affairs) was sent as ambassador to Taipei.

Although India does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, New Delhi has a diplomatic mission in Taipei called the India Taipei Association (ITA) headed by a senior diplomat, and Taiwan has the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi. . Both were established in 1995.

In 2014, Taiwan's Ambassador Chung-kwang Tien was invited to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony.

Meanwhile, bilateral trade between India and Taiwan is booming. "India and Taiwan signed a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIA) in 2002, which came into effect in 2005. Bilateral trade between India and Taiwan has grown from $2 billion in 2006 to $7 billion in 2020 - registering a growth of 185 percent. FDI flows from Taiwan to India from 2000 to 2021 $698.6 million," sources said.