No change in India's position on Taiwan: Govt sources

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting, in New Delhi.

There is no change in India's position on Taiwan and New Delhi has a relationship with it that focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties, government sources said on Tuesday.

The clarification came after Chinese media reported that External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wan Yi on Monday, reaffirmed that New Delhi considers Taiwan to be part of China.

It is learnt that Jaishankar did not make any clear articulation on the Taiwan issue at the talks with Wang.

There is no change in our position on Taiwan, the sources said.

We stressed that like the rest of the world, India has a relationship with Taiwan that focuses on economic, technology and cultural ties. We intend to continue it, they said.

The two foreign ministers held wide-ranging talks on Monday shortly after Wang landed in Delhi.

In the past, India had endorsed the One-China policy but the formulation has not featured in any bilateral document for the last several years.

Though India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic ties, the bilateral trade relations have been on an upswing.

In 1995, New Delhi set up the India-Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei to promote interactions between the two sides and to facilitate business, tourism and cultural exchanges.

India-Taipei Association has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport services.

In the same year, Taiwan too established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Delhi.