Hours after China protested the exchange of messages between Prime Minister Modi and Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on the Lok Sabha election outcome, the US on Thursday played down the issue saying that such “congratulatory messages are the normal course of diplomatic business.”
Responding to a question from a journalist during a daily press briefing about several state and non-state actors going on social media and saying that India would have a price to pay and the coercive and threatening behaviour coming out of China, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “I haven’t seen those specific reports, so I don’t want to comment on them in detail, but I would say that such congratulatory messages are the normal course of diplomatic business…”
Following his election victory, PM Modi received a congratulatory message from Lai on X on Wednesday, saying, “ My sincere congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi on his election victory. We look forward to enhancing the fast-growing #Taiwan – #India partnership, expanding our collaboration on trade, technology & other sectors to contribute to peace & prosperity in the #IndoPacific .”
Responding to the message, PM Modi wrote on X, “ Thank you @ChingteLai for your warm message. I look forward to closer ties as we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership.”
The exchange of greeting, however, didn’t go down well with China, which protested to India on Thursday, saying that it opposes all interactions between Taiwanese authorities and countries having diplomatic ties with Beijing.
During a daily media briefing in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning while addressing questions on recent message exchanges said that China had lodged a protest with India concerning the matter. Mao asserted that there is no recognised position of “President” for the Taiwan region, emphasising Beijing’s opposition to any official engagements between Taiwan authorities and nations with diplomatic ties to China. She reiterated China’s stance that there exists only one China globally, with Taiwan being an integral part of the People’s Republic of China.
Referring to Beijing’s “one-China” policy, Mao contended India has made “serious political commitments on this and is supposed to recognise, be alarmed about and resist the Taiwan authorities’ political calculations.”
Despite China’s protest, the US has maintained that India is free to engage with Taiwan in non-official capacities. The US has a long-standing ‘One-China’ policy, but it also maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan and sells weapons to the island for its self-defense.
