‘One China’: Delhi, demand reciprocity

China’s doublespeak in its conduct of international relations has been laid bare yet again. On Wednesday, the Chinese ambassador in New Delhi, Sun Weidong, called on the Indian government to abide by the ‘One China’ policy. The call came in the wake of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which Beijing interpreted as an act that “distorts, obscures and hollows out the ‘One China’ principle.” Under the ‘One China’ policy, a country affirms that the People’s Republic of China is the only China and that the Republic of China i.e., Taiwan, is not a separate, sovereign entity. The US affirmed its commitment to this policy in 1978, although the next year the US Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act and in 1982 the US government issued ‘Six Assurances’ that made it clear that the US would not formally recognise Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan and would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese bid to force Taiwan to integrate with it. Some 181 countries, including India, established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of ‘One China’. In recent years, and especially in the wake of Pelosi’s visit, China has been carrying out military drills near Taiwan’s territorial waters and sending military aircraft and ships across the Taiwan Strait’s median line. It has also been insisting that the rest of the world reaffirm ‘One China’.

Its call to India in this regard reveals China’s hypocritical approach to the idea of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Beijing expects India to respect China’s territorial integrity even as it shows scant regard for India’s. Not only has it intruded into India and sliced away large chunks of Indian territory over the decades, it has also explicitly supported Pakistani occupation of Indian territory. China accepted, and remains in control of, Shaksgam Valley, territory that is legally India’s but which Pakistan gifted to China. To add insult to injury, China is building projects on occupied territory belonging to India. Despite the many provocations, India has refrained from breaking with the ‘One China’ principle and establishing formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

India has been silent so far on the Taiwan crisis. However, New Delhi must let China know that its commitment to ‘One China’ will be based henceforth on reciprocity on India’s territorial integrity. India extended support to ‘One China’ in good faith, believing that Beijing’s actions would not be inimical to India’s territorial integrity. This has not been the case. It is time New Delhi made its position clear on the matter. Relations between sovereign nations are based on mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Beijing must be made to understand and adhere to this.