China opposed TECC in Mumbai

GS Paper - II

China said it “lodged solemn representations” to India after the Government of Taiwan opened its Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in Mumbai. The TECC in Mumbai marks the Taiwan government’s third office in India after New Delhi (opened in 1995) and Chennai (opened in 2012).

One-China Principle

  • Reacting to the development, China referred to India’s “commitment” to the “One-China Principle”, saying it “serves as the political foundation for China-India relations”. It is the official principle followed by the Chinese state regarding the island of Taiwan.
  • The one-China principle has a clear and unambiguous meaning, i.e. there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, the government website states.

Does India recognise the One-China Principle?

  • Yes. In fact, the number of countries that recognise Taiwan instead of mainland China has dwindled to 12 today, with China’s increasing heft in global affairs. India was one of the earliest countries to recognise the PRC in 1950.
  • C Raja Mohan said, Jawaharlal Nehru had substantive contacts with Nationalist leaders. However, Nehru “chose to cut off ties with Taiwan completely” after the Communists came to power.
  • India then waited until 1995 to establish relations with Taiwan, “as part of its adaptation to the international environment after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
  • Even as it opened ties with Taiwan, Delhi was quite deferential to Beijing and circumscribed its political ties with Taipei by letting them remain well below the norm in Asia.
  • India’s former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon mentioned two factors behind the warming India-Taiwan ties.
  • First, India’s 1992 “Look East” policy, which spoke about increasing engagement with Southeast Asia in the post-Cold War era, “increased Taiwan’s salience in Indian policy”.
  • The liberalisation of the Indian economy in 1991 also prompted India to look for global economic partnerships.

Why does India have Taiwan’s Economic and Cultural Centres?

  • In 1993, India and Taiwan agreed to establish representation in each other’s capitals, with the India-Taipei Association for India in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi.
  • India is not the only country with such centres. The United States, Australia, Russia and others also have them to facilitate visa services and cultural and economic exchanges in the absence of formal diplomatic missions.
  • With Taiwan emerging as a major technology centre and the world’s foremost manufacturer of semiconductors – used to power most electronic devices – India has sought to deepen their ties.
  • Taiwan-based semiconductor manufacturer Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, has an iPhone manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu. It said establishing the TECC in Mumbai was expected to have a similar effect in Western India.

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