(TibetanReview.net, May25’26) – Even as trust deficit between the two sides remain unresolved in the wake of the Galwan Valley border clashes of mid-2020, China has sought to make it clear May 24 that stability and constructive development of bilateral ties depends on India honouring its commitments on issues relating to Tibet and avoiding what it calls interfering in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
The remarks were made by Yu Jing, Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, on the X platform, days before the inauguration of Mr Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong (executive head) of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), following his re-election in February this year.
The CTA campaign for genuine autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule through a negotiated settlement. China, on the other hand, refuses to talk about it as it continues a campaign to Sinicize the occupied territory entirely, apparently in order to obviate any need for talks. It insists on calling the CTA a separatist Dalai Lama faction.
The CTA effectively functions as the Tibetan government in exile and Tibetans living in some 27 countries voted in February and April this year to elect their executive head, the Sikyong, and the members of its 45-member legislative body, the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, for the next five years.
In her X post, Yu has sought to make it clear that “the so-called ‘Central Tibetan Administration’ is not recognised by any sovereign country, and its leadership has neither the legitimacy to represent the Tibetan people nor the authority to make claims regarding the reincarnation process.”
And then, on the burning Dalai Lama reincarnation issue, Yu has maintained, “The issue of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is purely an internal matter of China and should not be subject to external interference.”
Calling on India to honour its “clear commitments on issues relating to Tibet”, Yu has demanded that it should “refrain from providing any platform for activities advocating ‘Tibetan independence,’ and avoid interference in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.”
She has said, “such an approach would contribute positively to the overall stability and constructive development of our bilateral ties.”
It is not clear why China is calling on India to refrain from interfering in the Dalai Lama reincarnation recognition, unless it is suggesting that New Delhi should endorse Beijing’s choice and reject any recognition made in keeping with the process prescribed by the spiritual leader himself, as is the Tibetan Buddhist norm.