China warns India on security ties with Taiwan after ex-chiefs visit island

NEW DELHI: China on Thursday said India should follow the “one China principle” and not have “military and security” cooperation with Taiwan, weeks after three former Indian service chiefs visited the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as a breakaway region.

Former army chief Manoj Naravane, navy chief Karambir Singh, and air chief RKS Bhadauria visited and delivered talks in Taipei for the Ketagalan Forum’s 2023 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue on August 8, a lowkey but rare visit by the former top leadership of the Indian armed forces.

President Tsai Ing-wen delivered the opening address at the event organised by the Taiwanese foreign ministry.

Three weeks later, the Chinese foreign ministry, asked to comment on the visit, said it “firmly opposes” such visits without directly naming India.

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“China firmly opposes all forms of official interaction between the Taiwan authorities and countries having diplomatic relations with China,” Wang Wenbin, foreign ministry spokesperson, said during the regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday.

“This is our consistent and clear position,” Wang said, according to the official transcript of the press conference published on the Chinese foreign ministry website.

“We hope the country concerned will abide by the one-China principle, prudently and properly handle Taiwan-related issues, and refrain from having any form of military and security cooperation with Taiwan,” Wang said, responding to the question from the Associated Press of Pakistan.

There was no immediate reaction from Indian officials.

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The Chinese foreign ministry’s delayed reaction to the visit comes in the backdrop of deeply strained Sino-India ties – which have nosedived since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020 -- and Beijing’s silence on whether Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi in September.

India follows the one-China principle but has stopped reiterating it in bilateral documents for over a decade. New Delhi has, however, maintained unofficial ties with Taiwan.

Beijing claims Taiwan as a breakaway region to be merged with the mainland by force if necessary. The Tsai Ing-wen government rejects Beijing’s claims, saying it is the Taiwanese people who will decide their future.

Delivering the inaugural lecture at the security-focussed forum, Taiwanese President Tsai spoke about the importance of the Indo-Pacific region and how “authoritarian regimes have become more aggressive and assertive.”

“They (the authoritarian regimes) are also more convinced that their alternative model is better and more adaptive than democracy,” she said, according to an official transcript of her speech.

“This is the main driver of friction between countries, especially in the region. As we are gathered here today, democracies, our security, and the rules-based international order are now faced with their greatest challenges.”

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