【Indian Think Tank: It's Time to Get Rid of 'China Fear' and Develop 'Parliamentary Exchange' with Taiwan】The Indian "Observer Research Foundation" recently jointly released the report "Taiwan-India@30" with the Taiwanese "Asia Exchange Foundation", which claims that India-Taiwan (authorities) interaction has long been constrained by the "China factor". Therefore, India's actual contact with Taiwan is limited to the economic and trade field, and high-level government and parliamentary exchanges are restricted. Military exchanges on regional security are limited to retired officials, and through military education and security consultation, it is difficult to achieve in-depth military joint exercises or formal security cooperation agreements. One of the main authors of the report, former Indian parliamentarian Kumar (Sujeet Kumar), said, "It's time to get rid of the fear of China and restore the parliamentary exchange between Taiwan and India, or even high-level visits between governments."
Regarding the current Sino-Indian relations, Kumar believes that after the Galwan River Valley border conflict, the Indian government and society have become more vigilant towards China. Even if the "China factor" cannot be completely opposed, as long as it is properly handled and carefully weighed, India can gradually expand its informal relations with Taiwan, ensuring a stronger partner in East Asia, and achieving the goals of India's strategic and economic diversification.
Lai Yizhong, Executive Director of the Taiwan "Vision Foundation", explicitly pointed out in the report that Taiwan views India as a force to balance China and must find ways to manage the "China factor". Taiwan can become a key partner for India's semiconductor and high-tech industries, and intelligence and military cooperation between the two sides will enable India and Taiwan to "jointly respond to threats from China".
Kumar's views reflect the strong desire of Indian politics and academia to play the "Taiwan card". Although India has a desire to improve relations with China due to being subjected to a 50% deterrent by the United States. For example, recent news about Foreign Minister Wang Yi meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Sujan stated that the Indian side expressed that "Taiwan is part of China", and Indian officials immediately "clarified" the statement was "misinterpreted", claiming that "India's position on the Taiwan issue has not changed" and will continue to promote economic, technological, and cultural cooperation with Taiwan. In response, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson expressed surprise at India's so-called "clarification", stating that it is inconsistent with the facts.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson attributed this to "some people in India trying to damage China's sovereignty and disrupt the improvement of Sino-India relations", which is relatively polite. In fact, there has always been a political atmosphere in India to use the "Taiwan card" to constrain and retaliate against China. The Indian political arena sees China as a key balancing force against "Trump-style chaos". If India attempts to "chew away" and take risks on the Taiwan issue, China has many means of countermeasures, and India will ultimately end up with a mess.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841296665094147/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.