China has taken great umbrage at the Dalai Lama’s ongoing visit to the north east including Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to which Beijing lays claim. India on its part reaffirms that the Dalai Lama is free to visit any part of India including Arunachal. It is not the first time that the Dalai is visiting the Tawang monastery in Arunachal. Beijing’s sound and fury over the ongoing visit passes understanding. India on its part can object vehemently to the construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor through Pak-occupied Kashmir which India claims to be its own territory. Beijing is also blocking New Delhi’s entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group and its permanent membership of the UN Security Council. All this should cause great concern to New Delhi as does China’s opposition to the UN declaring Masood Azhar a terrorist.
China is set to take advantage of India’s keenness to avoid bitterness in its relations with the Himalayan giant. That does not mean India should give way to China’s pressure tactics. Continuance of a soft policy by India will deprive it of its bargaining power in diplomatic confrontations. A trade war with India will in fact be detrimental to China’s interest. Beijing must be aware that the Chinese economy is slowing down. In spite of that it brags about the superiority of its military and economic power. The Dalai Lama is over 70 and does not question China’s suzerainty over Tibet. Why is Beijing so ruffled by his visit to Tawang? China should be just as keen on maintaining peaceful relations with India as India should with the latter.
