India’s nuanced yet clear and consistent stance on the Taiwan Strait can be deciphered and inferred from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address at the recent G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
The allusion to tensions in the Taiwan Strait and China’s saber rattling was very much discernable when he pitched for a collective voice against unilateral attempts to change the “status quo,” asserting that any tension and disputes should be resolved peacefully through dialogue and diplomacy.
The message is loud and clear to China and its belligerence not only in the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the India-China border; but also in the South and East China seas and, more importantly, the Taiwan Strait.
India-Taiwan relations have been growing steadily notwithstanding the lack of diplomatic relations between the two vibrant democracies. India’s response to the tension in the Taiwan Strait has been muted. When turbulence surfaced in the Strait, and China indulged in live-fire military exercises and violated the median line in August last year in the wake of a visit by then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, an Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson articulated India’s nuanced response, which was prominently reported and commented in the Taiwanese media. India urged restraint and the avoidance of unilateral action to change the “status quo.” India also bemoaned the “militarization of the Taiwan Strait.”
Yet another instance of India’s support to Taiwan is its outreach to the South Pacific island nations, some of which are Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, such as Nauru, Palau and the Marshal Islands, at a time when Beijing’s footprints in the Pacific islands have become more pronounced, with China and the Solomon Islands signing the security agreement raising concerns.
Modi also on Monday last week cochaired and addressed the Forum for India-Pacific Island Cooperation Summit in Papua New Guinea. Discernable observers could see the elephant in the room and India’s commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, which is seamlessly connected with the Taiwan Strait.
He also stressed respect for the sovereignty and territory of all countries. It is no coincidence that on the day Modi addressed the forum, the US signed a defense pact with Papua New Guinea, giving its forces access to the nation’s airfields to check China’s growing clout in the region.
Papua New Guinea’s location just north of Australia makes the pact strategically significant, which riled China. The pact provides a framework to help improve security cooperation, increase the size of Papua New Guinea’s defense forces and bolster regional stability.
While Beijing frowned upon the pact as a “geopolitical game,” Russia criticized the G7 as an incubator for anti-Russian and anti-Chinese hysteria.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when there are concerns that China would be tempted to invade Taiwan, Modi in a significant strategic posturing met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the margins of the G7 summit and said that India would do whatever it can to end the war in Ukraine.
This articulation has traction for Taiwan in view of growing ties between Taiwan and Ukraine. India has been pursuing a very calibrated approach to Ukraine, striking a fine balance between its long-standing strategic ally Russia and the US, with whom India’s strategic partnership has been upgraded to a “global strategic partnership.”
India’s principled position on the complex Ukraine imbroglio was articulated earlier in a carefully worded statement during the voting of the US-sponsored UN resolution deploring the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
It said: “We urge that all efforts are made for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities. We are also deeply concerned about the welfare of the Indian community, including a large number of students, in Ukraine. The contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. All members need to honor these principles. Dialogue is the only way to settle disputes... It is a matter of regret that the path of diplomacy was given up. For these reasons, India has chosen to abstain from the resolution.”
India’s abstention in a US-sponsored UN resolution deploring the Russian invasion of Ukraine should be seen in conjunction with this statement and not in isolation.
Be that as it may, the G7 summit has reiterated once again its firm commitment to Taiwan and to a rules-based world order. Now more than ever, the democratic world, including India, are resolute in their resolve to safeguard democracy and human rights the world over.
Rup Narayan Das is a Delhi-based foreign policy analyst and a Taiwan fellow in 2022.
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