‘China role’ dismays Dalai aide

It’s not just India that has reservations with the US-China joint statement calling for a greater role for Beijing in South Asia.

It’s not just India that has reservations with the US-China joint statement calling for a greater role for Beijing in South Asia.

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US President Barack Obama might have called on China to start talks with the Dalai Lama, but close aides of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader expressed dismay on portions of the joint communiqué, which refer to a Chinese role in the region.

Kalon Tempa Tsering, the India representative of the “Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama”, strongly criticised the statement saying Beijing did not have the moral authority that was required of a leader.

“A country cannot be propped up as a leader just because of its military and economic might. China, as a country, has no moral authority and integrity. It lacks the moral right to command respect from other countries,” Tsering told HT.

Tsering lauded Obama for asking China to resume talks with the Dalai Lama.