No change in India's position on Taiwan: MEA

Time of India

2 days ago

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India on Tuesday said there is no change in its position on Taiwan and New Delhi's relationship with it focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties.The clarification came after the Chinese foreign ministry misquoted External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as saying during his talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Taiwan is part of China.The Jaishankar-Wang talks took place on Monday evening shortly after the Chinese foreign minister landed in Delhi on a two-day visit."The Chinese side raised the issue of Taiwan. The Indian side underlined that there was no change in its position on this issue," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said."It pointed out that, like the rest of the world, India had a relationship with Taiwan that focuses on economic, technological and cultural ties and that this would continue. The Indian side noted that China also cooperates with Taiwan in these very domains," it said.In the meeting on Monday, Wang called upon the Indian side not to deal with Taiwan, sources said.In his response, Jaishankar wondered how it is possible when China itself is dealing with Taiwan in the same areas as India, they added.The sources said the Chinese foreign ministry misquoted Jaishankar.In the past, India had endorsed the 'One-China' policy but the formulation has not featured in any bilateral document since 2011.China has often urged India to adhere to the 'One-China' policy.Though India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic ties, the bilateral trade relations have been on an upswing.In 1995, New Delhi set up the India-Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei to promote interactions between the two sides and to facilitate business, tourism and cultural exchanges.India-Taipei Association has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport services.In the same year, Taiwan too established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Delhi.In the last few years, the trade ties between India and Taiwan have witnessed some forward movement.India has been particularly looking at cooperation with Taiwan in areas of high-technology including semiconductor.Taiwan, a self-ruled island of more than 23 million people, produces over close to 70 per cent of the world's semiconductors which include most advanced chips that are required for almost all electronic equipment such as smartphones, car components, data centres, fighter jets and AI technologies.Last year, the two sides inked a migration and mobility agreement that will facilitate employment of Indian workers in diverse sectors in the self-ruled island. Both sides were engaged in discussions over the pact for several years.