China on Thursday protested to India over an exchange of messages between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, saying that it opposes all interactions between Taiwanese authorities and countries having diplomatic ties with Beijing.
Modi responded to a congratulatory message from Lai on his election victory on Wednesday, saying on X, formerly Twitter, that he looked forward to closer ties between India and Taiwan as “we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership”.
Lai was among world leaders who greeted Modi on securing a third term in a post on X. “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,” he wrote.
When Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was asked about this exchange of messages at a regular media briefing in Beijing, she replied that China “has protested to India” about this matter. There was no immediate response from Indian officials to Mao’s comments. Mao contended there is “no such thing as ‘President’ of the Taiwan region”, and said Beijing opposes all official interactions between the Taiwan authorities and countries having diplomatic relations with China.
“There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China,” she said. 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”.
The US said congratulatory messages between two foreign leaders are a part of diplomatic business after China lodged a protest with India against PM Modi's response to the Taiwanese President's wishes on his June 4 election victory.