TIL Desk/World/Beijing-The Chinese media today accused India of using the Dalai Lama card to deal with China’s growing economic and political influence in South Asia and warned New Delhi of “severe consequences” if it hosted the Tibetan spiritual leader in a “disputed” area in Arunachal Pradesh. “Despite objections by China, India will host the Dalai Lama in a disputed region on the China-India border in coming weeks,”.
The comments came after the Chinese Foreign Ministry criticised India for allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as southern Tibet. The permission was granted last October and the Dalai Lama is expected to visit the area in the coming weeks. Referring to reported comments by Indian officials that it was a religious trip and Dalai Lama had undertaken numerous such visits earlier, the article said the officials has not realised the consequences.
“These Indian officials apparently didn’t realise, or deliberately ignored, the severe consequences the Dalai Lama’s trip would bring. “The 14th Dalai Lama is by no means a spiritual leader but a Tibetan separatist,” it said, adding that allowing him to the “disputed area will inevitably trigger confrontation, undermine the stability of the region and sour Sino-Indian relations”.
