Delhi’s snub to Beijing over ‘One China’ just verbal pyrotechnics

With public sentiment in India gradually hardening over the pussyfooting shown by the UPA government in its handling of sensitive foreign policy issues relating to Pakistan, China and the United States, policy mandarins at South Block decided it was time to show some gumption and face-off China over its brazen disregard to Indian sensitivities on a variety of issues, including Jammu & Kashmir. For the first time in decades it declined to provide China comfort over its 'One China' policy by not making it part of the joint statement issued at the end of the India-China summit.

The 'One China' policy affirms that Taiwan and Tibet are part of China.

The joint communiqué issued after the summit meet between Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Chinese premier Wen Jiabao also failed to provide routine comfort to the Chinese side that India recognised the Tibet Autonomous Region as part of Chinese territory.

For Beijing, the Delhi summit may be a double whammy of sorts in a very short span of time as even at the just concluded Cancun summit on climate change a number of nations insisted on bringing Taiwan to the table an all issues related to climate change.

Far from reiterating the ''One China'' policy they actually stressed the ''One China, One Taiwan'' policy. 

In the past, the ministry of external affairs' (MEA) China Desk, which provides an inordinately large number of foreign secretaries to the Indian Foreign Service, has bent so far backwards as to affirm that India will not allow even protests against the 'One China' principle in this country.