Dalai Lama episode like a sting in bilateral ties: China official

The Chinese official said Beijing “did not expect the (Narendra) Modi government” to give the Dalai Lama clearance to visit Arunachal Pradesh and on top of that “facilitate his visit, accompanied by an Indian minister”.

The official said: “We did not expect it since we had good relations with the Modi government, and the Dalai Lama’s last visit was eight years ago. For the Chinese people, he is a bad guy, (a) very incurable person. But India treats him as a best guest,” the official said. “He targets our leader…goes beyond his status as a guest.”

The official said the Dalai Lama’s visit has created “mistrust”.

The Chinese official maintained the official line that there was no link between the Dalai Lama and Wang’s visit being cancelled, and cited “scheduling problems” as the reason for cancellation of the trip.

“There is consultation going on between the three countries on scheduling the meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana in early June,” the official said. The SCO summit is scheduled for June 7 and 8.

The Indian Express had on Friday reported that Wang had cancelled his visit in April for the RIC foreign ministers’ meeting. It was to be hosted by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. While China had officially cited scheduling as the reason, the country’s diplomats had made it clear privately that Beijing was “extremely upset” with India over the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, “About the meeting that was to be held last month, as far as I know the reason is not China…. According to my information, the three countries are now talking about the schedule of the next foreign ministers’ meeting. They are maintaining communication and consultation.”

In New Delhi, the Chinese official said India needs to “take care” of Beijing’s concerns, including those on the Dalai Lama and the South China Sea (SCS).

The official also said India’s concerns about China blocking consensus on India’s membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and India’s bid to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN Security Council was as important as Beijing’s concerns on the Taiwan issue, the Dalai Lama, and the border dispute. “But we don’t raise these concerns (publicly). We want to handle them in closed-door meetings, not by going to the media,” the Chinese official said.

With India yet to confirm its participation in the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on May 14-15, the Chinese official said this would be seen as New Delhi having “no voice” on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pet project – the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.

“If India doesn’t attend the forum… it will give a feeling that you are not constructive…. If you’re absent, you have no voice,” he said.