Will the Next Nation Please Stand Up

Read Lhadon and Choeying’s analysis of the Dalai Lama’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh and call to other countries to stand up to China’s bullying.

By Lhadon Tethong and Tenzin Choeying

An analysis: Indian government brushes off China’s opposition to Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh

Tibetans across India and around the world this week applauded the Indian government’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh in the face of Chinese opposition. But contrary to what people may believe, we did so not just because Tibetan interests are at stake, but because we know the security of India itself rests on standing up to the Chinese government.

Make no mistake, Beijing is playing a long-term game in pushing its claims to Arunachal and other areas along the border with India. Less known is that China’s geographical ambitions extend beyond the sub-continent. Extraordinarily, their claims on a part of South Korea are based on almost mythological past events. Chinese historians have been commissioned to write articles and books on the area, which at some point in the future will undoubtedly be used by Chinese leaders as evidence to back their claims.

Tibet stands as a contemporary case in point. Over the past 60 years Beijing has effectively rewritten the history of Tibet and its relations with China and the world. And in a rush to secure their economic interests the world has acquiesced. Only last year the British government quietly sold out to China by formally recognizing their sovereignty over Tibet—a move achieved by describing Britain’s former recognition of China’s “suzerainty” of Tibet under the 1914 Simla Convention as an “outdated concept.”

But simply rewriting history neither reflects the reality nor does it do enough to legitimize the occupation of Tibet. The 2008 protests in Tibet awakened the Chinese leadership to the fragility of their hold over the region. This, alongside the leverage of their perceived economic advantage in the global financial crisis, put Beijing on an even more determined mission to weaken once and for all global support for the Tibet issue. Only last month they achieved a clear victory when President Obama declined to meet the Dalai Lama on his visit to the United States—the first time since 1991 that an incumbent U.S. President has failed to meet him even informally. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd soon followed, saying he also would not meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to Australia next month.

Tibetans have long looked on in horror as the international community has bent over backwards to appease the Chinese government. This shortsighted and naïve policy to promote their economic interests is only emboldening and sanctioning Beijing’s bullying, as well as its geo-strategic ambitions. This is the debate the world should focus on. China’s aggressive response to the Dalai Lama’s trip to Arunachal—indeed, to his trips anywhere in the world—is above all a reflection of its imperialist and expansionist nature.

Now is the time for India to recognize that a free Tibet is its best insurance against Chinese aggression. If Tibet remains a part of China, Beijing will continue to strengthen its Himalayan military advantage over India and control the increasingly valuable water resources that much of Asia depends upon. Tibetans know China perhaps better than any other people. In our long history as neighbors we have been both the conquerors and, as most know us now, the conquered. But most relevant to India and the world today are the terrible lessons we have learned through our first hand experience over 50 years of occupation—of what lies underneath the veil Beijing draws over its true ambitions.

In standing up to China, India has charted a course that the rest of the world should follow. Meaningful engagement with China should not depend upon compromising on integrity or national interests. As long as China wants to play a leadership role on the global stage it needs to be a responsible actor. For this, the world needs to hold China to account, and Tibet is a critical place to start.

Tenzin Choeying is the National Director for Students for a Free Tibet India and Lhadon Tethong is the Director of Tibet Action Institute.