China’s failure to stop the Government of India from clipping Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal is surely a shock that Beijing would not feel easy to handle. But this episode is a good opportunity for the Chinese leaders to realise the fact that it has to deal with a new Government in New Delhi which has, the guts to stand on its spine
Vijay Kranti
It’s interesting to note that every time His Holiness the Dalai Lama shakes even a finger, Beijing starts throwing tantrums. The ongoing visit of the deposed ruler and supreme religious leader of Tibet to Arunachal Pradesh is the latest example. As soon as Dalai Lama’s plans to visit Tawang and Bomdi La Pass were announced some months ago, Beijing criticised New Delhi for permitting this ‘splittist’ leader of Tibet and demanded the Modi Government to withdraw its permission to Dalai Lama to travel the ‘disputed area’.
The spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing has blamed India for causing “serious damage to Indo-China relations by encouraging Dalai Lama to visit an area, which it claimed, belongs to China. The spokesperson reiterated Beijing’s assertion that Arunachal is ‘South Tibet’ and hence a ‘part of China’. Beijing termed this proposed visit of the Tibetan leader as an interference in China’s ‘internal’ matters by India.”
Responding to these Chinese statements, the Indian Government told China that “Dalai Lama is a highly respected guest of a free India and he has freedom to visit any part of India, including Arunachal Pradesh.” Shri Kiren Rijuju, Minister of State for Home Union and himself a citizen of Arunachal, reminded Beijing “not to forget that India is now run by a nationalist Government which takes every decision in view of India’s national interests. We neither believe in putting pressure on other countries nor do we give in to others’ threats.”
China’s helplessness and desperation at the Dalai Lama was further exposed when it decided to use its puppet, anti-India terrorist group ULFA-I as its extended arm, ‘to issued warning to the Dalai Lama not to speak anything against China. While Paresh Baruah, the fugitive chief of ULFA, lives in a safe haven inside China, its self-styled Çhairman’ Abhizeet Barman, living in London, demanded Dalai Lama to say that Assam is ‘Nan Zang’ (viz. ‘South Tibet’) and is ‘under occupation of India’.
The tempo of Chinese tantrums against Dalai Lama and India as well as India’s response have witnessed consistent escalation with each passing day. There are no signs that it is going to cool down by any degree till the Dalai Lama returns from Arunachal to Dharamsala, the seat of his ‘Government in exile’ on April 14.
On April 5, when Tibetan Nobel Laureate drove into Bomdi La, the Chinese spokesperson in Beijing came out with yet another scathing comment calling India’s act as ‘obstinate’. “India is keenly aware of the role of the 14th Dalai Lama. Arranging this visit to the disputed area not only runs counter to India’s commitments on Tibet but will escalate the dispute in border areas,” she said. She quickly received a befitting response from Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh and an old admirer of Dalai Lama. Khandu snubbed the Chinese spokesperson’s concerns for dispute in (Indo-China) ‘border areas’ by claiming that “Arunachal Pradesh does not share a boundary with China, but only with Tibet”.
All this interaction between Beijing and New Delhi should prove an unambiguous reminder to the Chinese leadership that it will have to learn dealing with the Modi Government in New Delhi. Also that the new dispensation in New Delhi thinks and acts very differently as compared to some of the previous Indian Governments which would kowtow to Beijing’s threats and tantrums either just to look good or avoid friction between the two countries.
The very first sign in the change of guard in New Delhi became visible to Beijing when India invited almost every head of State from the neighbouring countries to participate in the swearing in ceremony of Shri Narendra Modi as the new Prime Minister. Not only that the President of the People’s Republic of China Xijinping was missing from the list of invitees, Dr Lobsang Sangay, the elected ‘Prime Minister’ in the Tibetan ‘Government in exile’ was seen mingling with the world leaders in the majestic ‘Rashtrapati Bhavan’ viz. the President House during the ceremony.
Later when Shri Modi started an unending chain of his visits to other countries and receptions for other heads of State the Chinese embassy in New Delhi went in to overdrive to ensure a time slot for Xi’s visit to India. It was first ever in the 65 year long history of relations between New Delhi and Beijing that a visit of the supreme leader of China had to be organised at the convenience of New Delhi.
However, as a time tested strategy, Beijing sent in a platoon of PLA soldiers into Ladakh on the eve of Xi’s India visit. In normal times (read Congress or UPA rule) this surprise act of China would have demoralised New Delhi and Xi would have got away with his agenda on Indo-China talks. But the poor man had to eat the proverbial humble pie when Modi Government made him choose between pulling the platoon back or
return to Beijing from Ahmedabad next morning.
In later months too Beijing had to issue acidic reactions when the President of India hosted dinner for Dalai Lama and other Nobel Laureates who had gathered at a common event in New Delhi. Chinese leaders were further shocked when New Delhi permitted American Ambassador Richard Verma, China’s escapee Tibetan leader Karma Pa and Dr Sangay to visit Arunachal Pradesh. Even Shri Modi himself made a high profile visit to Tawang despite loud Chinese objections.
By no means, such a response from New Delhi has been music to Beijing’s ears. Surely not after its ‘impressive’ diplomatic victories in many other countries over past few years. For example in October 2014 Beijing was able to force South African Government to deny visa to Dalai Lama who was scheduled to attend an international meet of Nobel Laureates in Pretoria. In yet another diplomatic coup same year Beijing was able to force Government of Spain to call a special session of its Parliament to re-write parts of its Constitution overnight in March 2014. It ensured that the Supreme Court of Spain would not implement its judgement on two cases which related to human rights excesses in Tibet by China. If implemented, this judgement would have forced the Interpol to arrest five senior Chinese leaders which included Hu Jintao, Li Peng and Jiang Jemin on their next travel to any country.
In many other countries where Chinese leaders could not persuade the Government to deny visa to the Dalai Lama, Beijing has been successful in stopping their respective heads of State to drop their meeting with the visiting Dalai Lama. Thus China’s failure to stop the Government of India from clipping Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal is surely a shock that Beijing would not feel easy to handle.
(The writer is Chairman, Centre for Himalayan Asia Studies and Engagement and a veteran Tibet-China watcher.)
