Taiwan-China faceoff: India urges for 'restraint, avoidance of unilateral actions'

As the Taiwan-China faceoff continues to escalate, India, on Friday, reacted to the crisis for the first time and urged all parties to exercise restraint. India also underlined the need for efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region. India's Ministry of External Affairs called for avoiding unilateral action to change the status quo in the region.

This comes after China launched massive military drills in the Asia Pacific, encircling Taiwan in retaliation to United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's recent visit to the island country. 

"Like many other countries, India, too, is concerned about this development (in Taiwan). We urge the exercise of restraint, avoidance of unilateral actions to change status quo, de-escalation of tensions and efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

China fumes over Pelosi's visit to Taiwan

Meanwhile, the Chinese government continues to launch scathing attacks on the United States over the recent visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan which took place on August 2.  Addressing a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi claimed that the backpedalling by Pelosi is both an outright provocation and a political farce which are bound to fail. On the other hand, Wang Wenbin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, "If Nancy Pelosi really cared about democracy & human rights, she would visit Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya to express remorse for the innocent local people who were killed by the US military."

It is pertinent to mention here that US Speaker Pelosi's visit to Taiwan happened despite continuous warnings from China, saying the US move undermines the "One-China" principle. In retaliation, the Chinese administration not only conducted huge military drills in the Asia Pacific region but also imposed sanctions on US House Speaker Pelosi and her direct relatives.