NEW DELHI: In what is certain to raise hackles in China, India will allow Taiwan vice-president Wu Den-yih a layover at a Delhi airport en route to Rome Saturday morning. Wu will spend several hours in transit at the airport where he is expected to interact with senior government officials as his aircraft is refueled, TOI has learnt.
As it continues to observe a One-China policy, India doesn't have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. This is the first time that a top Taiwan leader will land in Delhi, the political nerve centre of India.
Both sides have worked hard to keep the Delhi transit under wraps until now, keeping in mind its sensitive nature and fearing an immediate reaction from Beijing. As China continues to pin India down over Arunachal Pradesh - refusing to issue regular visas to residents of the state New Delhi describes as an integral part of India - the stopover by Wu here is seen as India getting its own back on Beijing.
It allowed a layover to Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou in April 2012 under similar circumstances but only in Mumbai, a non-political centre. India's decision was then seen as an attempt to enhance engagement with Taipei even at the cost of annoying China.
Top officials here refused to talk about Wu's stopover, merely stating that India and Taiwan have growing economic and cultural ties and that India is not averse to engaging Taiwan. China considers the democratic island nation its own. Wu will be in Delhi en route to Vatican City where he will attend the canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.
It is interesting that the government which takes over next month will face an immediate foreign policy challenge in deciding whether or not to send a youth delegation, comprising members from Arunachal, to China. China is said to have asked India's youth affairs ministry to not include anybody from Arunachal in the delegation.
India's "muscular" reaction, which is said to reflect the sentiment pervading India's foreign policy establishment on China, comes at a time when BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is widely tipped to lead his party to victory in the ongoing general elections. Modi, in fact, has visited Taipei in the past and his government has actively encouraged investments from Taiwan, including a proposed steel plant at Dahej.
China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949 and while the two have thriving trade ties, Beijing still doesn't rule out use of force for taking back the island. Earlier this month, Beijing registered a strong protest with the US, and accused it of violating promises made over the Taiwan issue, after the head of US' Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy visited Taipei.
Taiwan vice-president to land in Delhi, China likely to bristle - The Times of India
As it continues to observe a One-China policy, India doesn't have diplomatic relations with Taiwan. This is the first time that a top Taiwan leader will land in Delhi, the political nerve centre of India.
Both sides have worked hard to keep the Delhi transit under wraps until now, keeping in mind its sensitive nature and fearing an immediate reaction from Beijing. As China continues to pin India down over Arunachal Pradesh - refusing to issue regular visas to residents of the state New Delhi describes as an integral part of India - the stopover by Wu here is seen as India getting its own back on Beijing.
It allowed a layover to Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou in April 2012 under similar circumstances but only in Mumbai, a non-political centre. India's decision was then seen as an attempt to enhance engagement with Taipei even at the cost of annoying China.
Top officials here refused to talk about Wu's stopover, merely stating that India and Taiwan have growing economic and cultural ties and that India is not averse to engaging Taiwan. China considers the democratic island nation its own. Wu will be in Delhi en route to Vatican City where he will attend the canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II.
It is interesting that the government which takes over next month will face an immediate foreign policy challenge in deciding whether or not to send a youth delegation, comprising members from Arunachal, to China. China is said to have asked India's youth affairs ministry to not include anybody from Arunachal in the delegation.
India's "muscular" reaction, which is said to reflect the sentiment pervading India's foreign policy establishment on China, comes at a time when BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is widely tipped to lead his party to victory in the ongoing general elections. Modi, in fact, has visited Taipei in the past and his government has actively encouraged investments from Taiwan, including a proposed steel plant at Dahej.
China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949 and while the two have thriving trade ties, Beijing still doesn't rule out use of force for taking back the island. Earlier this month, Beijing registered a strong protest with the US, and accused it of violating promises made over the Taiwan issue, after the head of US' Environmental Protection Agency Gina McCarthy visited Taipei.
Taiwan vice-president to land in Delhi, China likely to bristle - The Times of India
