India can offer US diplomatic aid, Andaman access in event of Taiwan-China crisis, says former US official

New Delhi: India could provide the US with diplomatic support and access to Andaman and Nicobar islands in the event of a Taiwan-China crisis, said former US official Lisa Curtis. 

Curtis, who served as senior director for South and Central Asia at the US National Security Council during the Trump Administration, was speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit about India's potential role in the event of a military crisis between Taiwan and China

Beijing claims the island, which is home to 23 million people, as part of its territory. Tensions between China and Taiwan have risen substantially in recent years, sparking fears of a potential military conflict. The US has taken an active interest in the affair, given its ongoing strategic competition with China and its status as a longtime supplier of defence equipment to Taiwan.

India’s top policymakers have also taken notice of US-China tensions over Taiwan.

“It is difficult to estimate the actual damage that the Indian economy might suffer, but what is clear is that it will affect all segments of the economy and that the impact of a crisis might be substantial enough to set it back several years. Geopolitically, there will be significant implications for India’s national security, both directly as well as in the broader regional context, if Taiwan is reunified with the PRC. Conflict or tensions in the Taiwan Strait are, therefore, not in India’s interests,” former foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale had said in a 2023 paper about India’s approach to a potential crisis over Taiwan.

“As an important regional player with growing interests across the Indo-Pacific, India cannot avoid playing its part in trying to defuse tension and prevent war,” Gokhale had said.

Curtis, however, said that she didn’t expect India to send military support in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.

“You may find that there are some US officials who, perhaps, aren’t as familiar with India’s propensity for strategic autonomy that may suggest that India would send warships (to Taiwan)...I don’t it (India) would personally. I think India would be very cautious if there were a US-China conflict over Taiwan. That’s one thing that US leaders need to recognise that India will make its own decisions. India will do what is in India’s interests,” said Curtis. 

She dismissed the idea that India would choose to stir up trouble on the disputed Sino-Indian border in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.