The Global Times (April 6) reacted to an editorial in the Times of India (ToI) captioned "Taiwan message: New Delhi-Taipei cooperation is both mutually beneficial and a pointed signal to China", calling it "a senseless step to test China's bottom line on the Taiwan question". The objection was to the ToI stating "Beijing clearly doesn't respect 'One India.' There is no reason then for India to be overly sensitive about China's territorial claims." It quoted Liu Zongyi, Secretary-General of the Research Center for China-South Asia Cooperation at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, as saying on April 6 that "The TOI has gone way out of line by publicly stating that the island of Taiwan is a country." Liu Zongyi added that "what's concerning is that this editorial may represent the voice of New Delhi."  Global Times reported him commenting that "So far, New Delhi does not have the nerve to break the one-China principle. But Liu said it has been playing tricks behind the scenes." It recalled the Raisina Dialogue in 2016,  where Taiwan representative Tien Chung-Kwang was introduced as the "ambassador of embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to India" in the conference booklet.  Liu Zongyi also alleged that comments by Indian media outlets are not simply because of the so-called freedom of press, but their being backed by the government to make breakthroughs step by step. The Global Times threatened that "if India really tends to fish in troubled waters over the issue, China has enough tools to shatter its illusions."  It said "Supporting Taiwan secession is equivalent to violating the principle of the establishment of bilateral ties. In that case, New Delhi should beware of Beijing's reciprocal countermoves and quoted Liu Zongyi as saying "One of the measures could be not recognizing Sikkim as a part of India" and "If India supports secessionist forces in China, the latter could as well support separatist forces in northeast India in an-eye-for-an-eye manner."

(Comment: The two threats are identical to those made at the time of the Doklam crisis.)