India's Pragmatic Stance on Taiwan: A Cautious Yet Engaged Stakeholder

"India closely follows developments across the Indo-Pacific region. We have an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region, in view of our significant trade, economic, people to people and maritime interests. We urge all concerned parties to exercise restraint, eschew unilateral actions and resolve all issues through peaceful means without threat or use of force," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal while responding to a question on the recent developments - including China's military exercise around Taiwan and its impact on regional peace and stability - during a media briefing in New Delhi on January 9, this year.

Highlighting the MEA spokesperson's statment, Sana Hashmi, a fellow at the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, wrote in Taiwan's leading daily Taipei Times that it sets a firm tone at the beginning of the year for India-Taiwan relations and reflects New Delhi's recognition of shared interests and the strategic importance of regional stability.

India, reckoned Hashmi, has issued statements in the past as well, including after then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in 2022 and China's subsequent military drills. However, the latest statement stands out for several reasons.

Hashmi wrote that it showcases continuity in India's stance that stability in the Taiwan Strait can no longer be seen as a distant concern, but one that directly affects its broader strategic environment. The Taiwan Strait is an important maritime corridor for global trade and energy, and instability in it could cause problems for India's economic and security interests.

By connecting its position to trade, economic, people-to-people and maritime interests, India considers Taiwan's security as a concrete strategic concern instead of abstract principle, demonstrating a pragmatic approach based in national interest.

Also, India's call for restraint and peaceful resolution demonstrates New Delhi intention to have a stable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region amid an evolving and chaotic global order, positioning India as a cautious yet engaged stakeholder in Taiwan Strait security. Furthermore, the mention of unilateral actions in the statement conveys India's disapproval of Chinese behaviour without overt confrontation.

Hashmi stated that India has strategic interests and economic rationale to engage Taiwan deeply. It is in India's interest to avoid a conflict and urge China to maintain the "status quo." Economically, Taiwan's relevance for India has been well established.

"Crucially, New Delhi must stop viewing Taiwan solely through the prism of either the US or China. An independent and autonomous policy toward Taiwan would serve India well over the long term. If strategic autonomy is to have real meaning, it must also apply to its Taiwan policy. This month's statement reflects continuity and a growing recognition that India's regional and economic interests, particularly regarding Taiwan, can no longer be addressed through rhetorical caution alone," Hashmi wrote in Taipei Times.

"Taiwan's security is inseparable from India's strategic environment and treating it as peripheral misreads the realities of Indo-Pacific interdependence. Safeguarding stability in the Taiwan Strait is not a matter of alignment or taking sides, but of advancing national interests through clarity, consistency and credible strategic engagement. Understood in this way, a more substantive engagement with Taiwan constitutes a necessary test of India's professed commitment to strategic autonomy and multialignment," the writer added.

- IANS