“Militarization of the Taiwan Strait”: For the first time, India has sharply criticized China's Taiwan escalation
Created: 08/31/2022, 04:46
By: Sven Hauberg
Chinese People's Liberation Army fighter planes near Taiwan: Tensions in the region have recently increased again.
© Li Bingyu/Xinhua/dpa
For the first time since Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, India has spoken of a "militarization" of the region.
The background is a dispute with China over an alleged spy ship.
Munich/Colombo – India has given up its restraint in the Taiwan crisis.
In a statement released over the weekend, India's representative in Sri Lanka spoke of a "militarization of the Taiwan Strait".
The Taiwan Strait is a strait that separates democratically-governed Taiwan and the People's Republic of China.
As the
Hindu Times
reports, it was the first time that India spoke out so clearly in the current crisis.
So far, India's Foreign Ministry has said only that the New Delhi government is "concerned by recent developments" and is calling for "restraint, avoidance of unilateral action to change the status quo, de-escalation of tensions and efforts to maintain peace." and stability in the region".
In his statement, the Indian representative drew a parallel between the "militarization of the Taiwan Straits" and recent developments in Sri Lanka.
A few weeks ago, the Chinese surveillance ship "Yuan Wang 5" docked at the port of the city of Hambantota despite protests from New Delhi.
According to reports, the Chinese People's Liberation Army ship is used to track satellite and ICBMs, among other things.
India had previously expressed concerns that the "Yuan Wang 5" could spy on military installations on the nearby Indian mainland.
China, on the other hand, said the ship was only conducting maritime research.
State media also pointed out that a ship of the same type had already visited Sri Lanka in 2014.
China and Taiwan: That's what the conflict is about
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After Pelosi's visit, the Taiwan issue took on new explosiveness
After the "Yuan Wang 5" left Hambantota a few days ago, the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka said India had used security concerns as an excuse to interfere with Sri Lanka's "sovereignty and independence".
In response, the Indian representative in the island nation said that Sri Lanka, stricken by a severe economic crisis, "needs support and not undesired pressure or unnecessary controversy to serve another country's agenda".
The statement also referred to the fact that the port of Hambantota is under Chinese control: Because Sri Lanka could not service the debt for the construction of the port by China, Hambantota was placed under the control of the People's Republic for 99 years.
Adding to Taiwan's rhetoric, Wen-ti Sung of the Australian National University told Britain's
Guardian
: "India knows that China does not want an escalation on multiple fronts and dares to create a new leverage where none existed before by China is addressing Taiwan.” The Taiwan conflict, which has been unresolved for decades, took on new explosiveness in early August after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island state.
China regards Taiwan as a "breakaway province" and is threatening to take over the 23-million-inhabitant state militarily.
Relations between India and China are tense – also because of a border conflict
Relations between China and India have been strained for years.
The point of contention is above all the question of where exactly the approximately 3,500-kilometer-long border between the two most populous countries in the world runs.
In the spring of 2020, there was a fight between Chinese and Indian soldiers in a remote Himalayan region, which reportedly killed up to 60 people.
The two nuclear powers are also on a confrontational course in the Indian Ocean.
India considered the region, home to some of the world's most important shipping routes, to be its backyard.
At the same time, Beijing is expanding its influence in the region and, in addition to Sri Lanka, has built ports in Pakistan and Myanmar, which India sees as a threat.
(sh)
