China surprised by India’s U-turn on Taiwan

BEIJING: Beijing on Thursday said it was surprising to see India issuing a “clarification” on the Taiwan issue, after New Delhi admitted during the recent visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the island is part of China.

Mao Ning, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said, “China has released readouts on the talks between the Chinese and Indian foreign ministers. For the Chinese side, the Indian side’s so-called ‘clarification’ came as a surprise.” 

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During a daily press briefing, Mao was replying to question about the Indian sources claiming that External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was misquoted.

“We find it inconsistent with the facts,” she made it clear.

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Mao went on to talk about the attempt to undermine her country’s sovereignty”.

“It would seem that some people in India have tried to undermine China’s sovereignty on the Taiwan question and impede the improvement of China-India relations. China expresses serious concern and firmly opposes that.”

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In this connection, she reaffirmed her country’s One-China Policy.

“Let me stress that there is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. This is a prevailing consensus among the international community, including India.”

At the same time, the spokesperson expressed the hope that India would “properly handle sensitive issues”.

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“We hope India will earnestly abide by the one-China principle, properly handle sensitive issues and promote the steady development of bilateral relations.”

THE CONTROVERSY

The latest controversy started after Indian media on Tuesday quoted sources as saying that “there is no change in India’s position on Taiwan, with which New Delhi maintains economic, technology and cultural ties.

A readout issued by the Chinese foreign ministry on Monday stated that Jaishankar said that ““Taiwan is a part of China”.