Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Wednesday criticised the Chinese embassy’s request to the Indian media to “stick to Indian government’s position on Taiwan question” and to “not violate the One-China principle”.

China on Wednesday night reacted to advertisements in the Indian media about Taiwan’s National Day, which is to be celebrated on October 10. “Regarding the so-called forthcoming ‘National Day of Taiwan’, the Chinese embassy in India would like to remind our media friends that there is only one China in the world, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China,” the embassy said in a statement.

The embassy said that Taiwan should not be referred to as a “country” or as the “Republic of China”, and its leader should not be called “president”.

The Taiwan foreign ministry asked China to “get lost” after its advice to journalists. “India is the largest democracy on Earth with a vibrant press and freedom-loving people,” the ministry tweeted. “But it looks like communist China is hoping to march into the subcontinent by imposing censorship. Taiwan’s Indian friends will have one reply: GET LOST!”

New Delhi has no formal diplomatic relations with Taipei, but the two countries have close business and cultural ties, Reuters reported. In 1995, India and Taiwan established representative offices in Taipei and New Delhi, the Hindustan Times reported.

Relations between India and China have been strained since 20 Indian soldiers and an unidentified number of their Chinese counterparts were killed in a violent clash between the two armies in Ladakh on June 15. The two sides have been talking to each other, but are yet to reach any agreement on ending the standoff on the border.