The meeting between US special coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya and the Dalai Lama in New Delhi triggered an angry response on Monday from China, which said “no external forces have the right to interfere” in the affairs of Tibet.
In a strongly worded statement, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi opposed any contact between foreign officials and “Tibetan independence” forces. “Xizang (Tibet) affairs are purely internal affairs of China and no external forces have the right to interfere,” the statement said.
Zeya, who is also the US under secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights, began a visit to India on Sunday. Shortly after arriving in New Delhi, she met the Dalai Lama along with other senior US officials, according to a post on Facebook by the Central Tibetan Administration.
China typically frowns on international diplomatic parleys with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, which it annexed in 1950.
People familiar with the matter said the current situation in Tibet and China’s policies in the region were among the issues that figured at the meeting. Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the head of the Tibetan administration in exile, Norzin Dolma, the minister of information and international relations, Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, and several other senior Tibetan officials participated in the meeting.
The US delegation included Donald Lu, assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs. US ambassador Eric Garcetti, and USAID deputy assistant administrator Anjali Kaur.
{{/usCountry}}The US delegation included Donald Lu, assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs. US ambassador Eric Garcetti, and USAID deputy assistant administrator Anjali Kaur.
{{/usCountry}}The statement by the Chinese embassy described the position held by Zeya as “pure offense and a move of political manipulation to interfere in China's internal affairs”. China has always opposed this and never recognised it, it added.
The statement contended that the Dalai Lama is not “just a religious figure, but rather a political exile who has long been engaging in anti-China separatist activities”.
The Tibetan government in exile is a “separatist political group and an illegal organisation completely in violation of China's Constitution and laws”, the statement claimed.
“The US should take concrete actions to honour its commitment of acknowledging Xizang as part of China, stop meddling in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Xizang-related issues, and offer no support to the anti-China separatist activities...,” the statement said.
Ahead of her arrival in India, Zeya said in a tweet that she looked forward to “productive meetings with Government of India & civil society leaders building on momentum of @narendramodi’s historic State Visit” to the US last month.
India and the US are working together for a “more open, prosperous, secure, inclusive & resilient" world, she said.
Zeya, who will also travel to Bangladesh during July 8-14, is expected to meet senior government officials in India to discuss the US-India partnership, including “advancing shared solutions to global challenges, democracy, regional stability, and cooperation on humanitarian relief”, the US state department said.
She is also expected to advance shared solutions to global challenges, and bolster humanitarian support for refugees across the region.