Back-channel talks with China held earlier this month, says Tibetan leader
Penpa Tsering, political leader of Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, said the latest talks were held at the beginning of this month
The Tibetan government-in-exile is continuing its back-channel communications with China to find a resolution to the issue of Tibet, with the latest contact made at the beginning of this month, the head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said on Wednesday.
Penpa Tsering, Sikyong or political leader of the government-in-exile based in Dharamshala, contended that developments such as the Indian government’s clearance for a US Congressional delegation to meet the Dalai Lama, India’s support for the Philippines in the South China Sea, and the Indian prime minister’s decision to skip the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit were all a response to “China’s behaviour”.
Also read | Resolution of Sino-Tibet conflict to be mutually beneficial: Tibetan leadership
Tsering also told a small group of reporters the Resolve Tibet Act, signed by US President Joe Biden on July 12, offers clarity about Washington’s position by stating that the China-Tibet dispute must be resolved in line with international law through a dialogue without preconditions, and by recognising that the Tibetan people have the right to self-determination.
“If you ask me, do we have back channels? Yes, we do. It’s going on,” Tsering said while responding to a question on China ruling out talks with the CTA after he revealed the back-channel communications in April.
The contacts between the CTA and the Chinese side occurred in a “third country”, he said without giving details. “The last one [contact] happened at the beginning of this month,” he added.
Tsering, however, reiterated the CTA doesn’t have any expectations from these contacts. “But if you ask me, why do you engage even if you have no expectations, I say it’s long term. We can’t just think only about short term, just can’t think only about [Chinese President] Xi Jinping...But we have to maintain communications,” he said.
Taking a swipe at China, Tsering said many recent moves by India, such as allowing a visit to Dharamshala by a US Congressional delegation led by Republican lawmaker Michael McCaul and including Democratic former speaker Nancy Pelosi, could be seen as New Delhi’s response to Beijing’s belligerence.
Also read | Back-channel talks with China exist, but expecting too much not reasonable: Tibetan govt-in-exile president
The delegation, in addition to meeting the Dalai Lama, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and was hosted for dinner by external affairs minister S Jaishankar.
“It’s all happening because of China’s behaviour. India’s response to all that is also because of China’s behaviour. I think the reason why the prime minister didn’t go to the SCO Summit and sent the foreign minister is very clear, it’s a message. And then [Modi] going to meet with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin but not meeting with Xi Jinping also reflects how tense the relationship between China and India is,” he said.
The current dispensation in New Delhi has taken a “strong position” that there won’t be normalisation of India-China ties unless there is disengagement of troops in all sectors of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Tsering said. “We have repeatedly kept saying that China respects only strength, not weakness, and today India is taking a strong position,” he said.
Explaining the importance of the Resolve Tibet Act, Tsering said the US legislation had support from Democrats and Republicans and clearly states that Tibet is an “unresolved conflict” which has to be resolved in line with international law.
In keeping with the CTA’s call for a resolution that provides some sort of autonomy for Tibet under the Dalai Lama’s “middle way” policy, the US law recognises that the Tibetan people have the right to self-determination. The act also pushes back against Chinese disinformation by stating the US doesn’t recognise the assertion that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times, he said.
Tsering responded to a question about China’s insistence that it alone can anoint the successor to the Dalai Lama by saying this matter can be decided only by the spiritual leader and the Tibetan people. “It’s [the Dalai Lama] who’s going to be reborn, it’s not Xi Jinping who’s going to be reborn. So, it’s His Holiness who has to decide, and His Holiness has very consistently said I will be reborn in a free world,” he said.