Politicians and academics in India have expressed support for closer Taiwan-India ties on the social media platform X, after Beijing issued a strongly worded public statement on the servicec against exchanges between President William Lai (賴清德) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Following the Indian prime minister’s re-election for a third term, Lai on Wednesday congratulated Modi.
“My sincere congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi on his election victory,” Lai wrote. “We look forward to enhancing the fast-growing Taiwan-India partnership, expanding our collaboration on trade, technology and other sectors to contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
Photo: AFP
In response, Modi on the same day shared a message.
“Thank you @ChingteLai for your warm message. I look forward to closer ties as we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership,” he wrote.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) at a daily media briefing on Thursday criticized the exchanges between the two leaders.
“India has made a serious political commitment toward the ‘one China Policy.’ [India] is supposed to resist Taiwan’s political ploys. Because of this, China has requested negotiations with India,” Mao said.
While the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has yet to respond to Beijing’s statement, Indian academics and politicians expressed support over Taiwan and India’s relationship on X, while criticizing China.
“Instead of playing territorial chess with sovereign regions, China should focus on respecting international norms. Taiwan has its own identity. It’s time for Beijing to retire its bully tactics and embrace diplomacy over domination,” Indian lawmaker Sujeet Kumar wrote on Saturday.
Kumar thanked Lai for his message to Modi, adding that he completely supports stronger ties between the two “vibrant democracies.”
Brahma Chellaney, an academic from India’s Center for Policy Research, in an X post shared on Thursday said that following China’s quick protest after Lai’s message, India has concerns over Taiwan’s status, adding that “’closer ties’ should extend beyond the economic realm.”
“China does not recognize Kashmir as part of India,” Jawaharlal Nehru University Professor Anand Ranganathan wrote. “China has usurped 38,000 square kilometers of Kashmir. China supports Pakistan on Kashmir. Despite this, India refuses to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. India does not even recognize Taiwan as a country. Time has come to correct this.”
Indian news media such as Press Trust of India, World Is One News, the Hindustan Times and the Indian Express reported on Beijing’s reaction to Lai-Modi interaction on social media.
Meanwhile, India’s Asian News International reported on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ response on X over China’s reaction.
Beijing’s demeanor to a “cordial exchange” between leaders of two democracies was unjustified, it said, adding that threats and intimidation are never ways to fostering friendships.
Taiwan is committed to building partnerships with India “underpinned by mutual benefit and shared values,” it said.
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