Taiwan thanks India for urging restraint by all sides

 The island country expressed sincere gratitude to all countries that have voiced justice and grave concerns regarding China’s recent belligerent military posturing across the Taiwan Strait

Representational image : File photo

TT Special Correspondent   |   New Delhi   |  15.08.22 :  Taiwan on Sunday thanked New Delhi for urging restraint by all sides in the island country’s standoff with China, adding it would work with like-minded countries including India to safeguard security across the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan communicated this in a statement issued by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC), the island’s de facto embassy in New Delhi.

It expressed “sincere gratitude to all countries that have voiced justice and grave concerns regarding China’s recent belligerent military posturing across the Taiwan Strait”.

India had on Friday expressed concern at the escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait over the past fortnight and called for restraint and “avoidance of unilateral actions to change status quo, de-escalation of tensions and efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region”.

India also refused to reaffirm the one-China policy at a time Beijing is keeping a tab on who has iterated it and who hasn’t, following the escalation of tensions triggered by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit earlier this month.

In the statement, TECC said: “The government of Republic of China (Taiwan) wishes to convey sincere gratitude to the executive branches and parliamentarians of over 50 countries — including India — which have called on all sides to exercise restraint, de-escalate tensions, avoid unilateral actions to change status quo and maintain peace and stability in the region.”

It added: “In the face of evolving developments, the government of Taiwan will continue to enhance its self-defence capabilities while maintaining close communication and coordination with the US, Japan and all other like-minded nations including India to jointly preserve the rules-based international order and safeguard security across the Taiwan Strait and consolidate peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”