Amid growing tension with China, Taiwan opens new office in Mumbai

Mumbai: Amid Taiwan claiming that China is building its capacity to rapidly turn military drills into a full-out attack, it inaugurated the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Mumbai, the country’s third office in India, a release said.

The new office will serve four major western Indian states—Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa—as well as the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Ambassador Baushuan Ger, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in India, and Director General Homer Chang of the new office attended the reception on Wednesday, as per the official press release.

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Chia-Lung Lin recorded a congratulatory video for the event, highlighting the remarkable progress in India-Taiwan relations in recent years.

He noted that the opening of TECC in Mumbai at a key strategic hub in western India, not only reflects the success of Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy” and India’s “Act East Policy”, but also represents the continued promise to enhance bilateral ties, the press release stated.

The Taipei EconomIc and Cultural Center in Mumbai is Taiwan’s third office in India, following the establishment of the TECC in New Delhi in 1995 and the TECC in Chennai in 2012.

India and Taiwan share common democratic values, and their relations have steadily advanced through growing collaborations and people-to-people exchanges in recent years. Looking ahead, the office will continue to promote bilateral economic, technological, educational, and cultural exchanges, the press release stated.

Meanwhile, China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, staged large-scale drills this week saying they were a warning to “separatist acts” following last week’s national day speech by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te.

Taiwan has for the past five years complained of almost daily Chinese military activities around the island, including at least four rounds of major war games and regular “joint combat readiness patrols”.

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