Indian government should make Tibet one of the key issues in its policies on China: Lobsang Sangay

China’s aggression along the border is the continuation of its strategy from Mao Zedong’s time to occupy Tibet and annex the five fingers of Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh, says Lobsang Sangay, President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) — the Tibetan government in exile. Tibet is at the core of India’s ongoing border tensions with China, he says in an interview with Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, while suggesting that New Delhi also make Tibet one of the key issues in its policies. Edited excerpts:

What are your views on the current India-China standoff ?
The violence and the death of Indian jawans were unfortunate. India never shared a border with China; it’s the Indo-Tibetan border. Tibet served as a zone of peace in the form of a buffer between India and China for more than a thousand years. It is no longer the case since China’s invasion of Tibet in the 1950s. For decades, we have been saying Tibet’s narrative should be a lesson. This is not the first military aggression by China and sadly it won’t be the last.

How important in your view is the Tibet question in the Sino-Indian boundary dispute?
The issue of Tibet is at the core of ongoing India’s border tensions with China. It was only after Chinese illegal occupation of Tibet in 1959 that India and China came to share the now-disputed border. Chairman Mao Zedong’s expansionist strategy from the 1950s was to occupy Tibet and annex the five fingers: Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. What we saw in Dokalam in 2017 and now at Ladakh is the unravelling of that strategy. Hence this is a challenge for India.

India has the largest Tibetan population in exile, the Dalai Lama calls himself a proud son of India. Given the strategic significance of Tibet — historically, geopolitically, culturally and ecologically as Tibet is the water tower of Asia — the Indian government should make Tibet one of the core issues in its policies.

What is the reason for China to keep shifting goalposts?
China warned India that it will open new fronts across the Himalayan borders, which stretches 3,488 km from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. China’s shifting military aggressions in the Indo-Tibet borders from Sikkim to Ladakh is to put pressure on India from different fronts in the Himalayas.

Why PLA started this standoff when the entire world is fighting Covid-19?
Even before the pandemic, the world has seen constant military aggression by China on multiple fronts. This pandemic is probably the worst crisis the humanity has faced since WW-II. It is also a fact, which is not unknown now, that China’s initial cover-up and downplay of the Wuhan-originated Covid-19 delayed the response of the nations and led to the widespread infection outside China.

When China was rising as a global power, there was a growing discourse directed at interpreting China’s rise. I think China has once again shown what kind of global standing and image in the world it is planning for.

What is the future of negotiations with China on the Tibet issue?
From our side we abide by the Middle Way Policy which is officially endorsed by global leaders and, based on this policy, we are willing for a dialogue with the Chinese government anytime, anywhere. Since the early 1970s, the CTA has made every effort within its power to create a conducive atmosphere for dialogue, including a series of confidence-building measures and nine rounds of discussion with the Chinese leadership.