China Taiwan Issue: One China Policy

China Taiwan Issue: One China Policy

Subject : International Relations

Section :(Bilateral relations)

CONTEXT:

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan, casting aside private warnings from the Biden administration about the risk that her high-profile diplomatic visit could stoke a new crisis in Asia and immediately prompting a sharp response from the Chinese government.

WHAT IS ONE CHINA POLICY?

• The One China policy is a key cornerstone of Sino-US relations. It is the diplomatic acknowledgement of China’s position that there is only one Chinese government.
• Under the policy, the US recognises and has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan, which China sees as a breakaway province.
• China insists Taiwan is an inalienable part of one China. So, any country that wants diplomatic relations with mainland China must break official ties with Taipei.
• Since, the US established formal diplomatic ties with Beijing in 1979, it had to sever ties with Taiwan and closed its Taipei embassy. This has resulted in Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation from the international community.

 China and Taiwan issue (Background):

• China and Taiwan separated amid civil war in 1949 and China considers Taiwan part of its territory to be taken control of by force if necessary.
• But Taiwan’s leaders say that Taiwan is a sovereign state.
• After decades of hostile intentions and angry rhetoric, relations between China and Taiwan started improving in the 1980s. China put forward a formula, known as “one country, two systems”,under which Taiwan would be given significant autonomy if it accepted Chinese reunification.
• In Taiwan, the offer was rejected, but the government did relax rules on visits to and investment in China.
• There were also limited talks between the two sides’ unofficial representatives, though Beijing’s insistence that Taiwan’s Republic of China (ROC) government is illegitimate prevented government-to-government contact.
• China’s implementation of a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020 was seen by many as yet another sign that Beijing was becoming significantly more assertive in the region.

• China’s Concerns:
  • One China Policy Challenged:
  • This means that countries seeking diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC, Mainland China) must break official relations with the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) and vice versa.
  • The ROC, Taiwan has diplomatic relations with 15 countries and substantive ties with many others such as Australia, Canada, EU nations, Japan and New Zealand.
    • Besides, Taiwan has full membership in 38 intergovernmental organizations and their subsidiary bodies, including the World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Asian Development Bank and Central American Bank for Economic Integration.
  • Agreements/Exercises Countering China:
    • Formation of AUKUS (Australia, UK, USA)to counter china.
    • Malabar Exercise(US, Japan, India and Australia) is also a major step towards building a sustainable Indo-Pacific.
  • Strategic and Defense Support to Taiwan by US:
    • Taiwan has sought to improve its defenses with the purchase of US weapons, including upgraded F-16 fighter jets, armed drones, rocket systems and Harpoon missiles.
  • India’s Stand on the Issue:
    • Since 1949, India has accepted the “One China” policy that accepts Taiwan and Tibet as part of China.
    • Even though India has stopped mentioning its adherence to One China policy in joint statements and official documents since 2010, its engagement with Taiwan is still restricted due to the framework of ties with China.
    • India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic relations but since 1995, both sides have maintained representative offices in each other’s capitals that function as de facto embassies.