The succession of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is a thorn in China-India relations, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said on Sunday, as India’s foreign minister prepares to visit China for the first time since deadly border clashes in 2020.
Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar is scheduled to visit China to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on July 14-15. He is expected to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the SCO conclave.
It would be Jaishankar’s first visit to China after the ties between the two countries came under severe strain following the 2020 military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
What the Chinese Embassy spokesperson said
In a message posted on X on Sunday, Spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India Yu King said that the Indian government has made political commitments to China. “It recognizes that Xizang Autonomous Region is part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China and India does not allow Tibetans to engage in political activities against China in India,” she added.
In the post, which listed five points on the Tibet (which China recognises as an integral part of it and refers to it as Xizang) issue, Yu King said that the issue has become a ‘thorn’ in India-China relations.
“In reality, Xizang-related issue is a thorn in China-India relations and has become a burden for India. Playing the “Xizang card” will definitely end up shooting oneself in the foot,” she wrote.
Without naming anyone, she took note of people from “strategic and academic communities” who have made “improper remarks on the reincarnation of Dalai Lama”.
“It has been noted some people from strategic and academic communities, including former officials, have made some improper remarks on the reincarnation of Dalai Lama, contrary to Indian government’s public stance,” she wrote in her post.
“As professionals in foreign affairs, they should be fully cognizant of the sensitivity of issues related to Xizang, and that the reincarnation and succession of the Dalai Lama is inherently an internal affair of China, brooking no interference of any external forces,” she further wrote.
Dalai Lama succession row
Earlier this month, the Dalai Lama asserted that a trust of Tibetan Buddhists will have the sole authority to recognise his future reincarnation. China reacted angrily to the remarks by the Dalai Lama and said his reincarnation should be approved by the Chinese government.
Tibetans believe the soul of any senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated after his death, but China says the Dalai Lama’s succession will also have to be approved by its leaders.
The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, and Indian foreign relations experts say his presence gives New Delhi leverage against China. India is also home to about 70,000 Tibetans and a Tibetan government-in-exile.
India’s take on the Dalai Lama succession row
Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who sat next to the Dalai Lama during the birthday festivities a week ago, has said that as a practising Buddhist, he believes only the spiritual guru and his office have the authority to decide on his reincarnation.
However, the Union foreign ministry said on July 4, two days before the Dalai Lama’s birthday, that New Delhi does not take any position or speak on matters concerning beliefs and practices of faith and religion.
(With inputs from agencies)
