'Urge US to Stop Meddling': China, as Blinken Meets Dalai Lama Reps
US State Secretary Antony Blinken met two Tibetan officials during his visit to Delhi.
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A day after the US Secretary of State met a senior representative of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, China asserted its condemnation of the meeting held in Delhi, on Thursday, 29 July, stating that it violated the US's commitment to consider Tibet as a part of China.
"We urge the US to honour its commitment to stop meddling in China's internal affairs under the pretext of Tibetan affairs, and offer no support to Tibet independence forces to engage in anti-China separatist activities. China will take all necessary measures to defend its own interests,” a Chinese spokesperson said, news agency PTI reported.
In the meeting, Dongchung thanked Blinken for the US's continued support to the Tibetan cause, PTI reported.
The meeting between the senior US official with the Tibetan representative is significant as it recognises Dalai Lama's lifelong commitment and efforts for promoting universal peace and dialogue, a spokesperson of the Central Tibetan Administration told ANI.
On the same day, Blinken had also chaired a meeting of seven civil society leaders in Delhi, wherein another Tibetan representative, Geshe Dorjee Damdul, had also been present.
China firmly opposes all forms of contacts between foreign officials and the Dalai Lama, he added, alleging that the Tibetan leader was a divisive figure who engaged in separatist politics.
"Any formal contact between the US and the Dalai clique is a violation of the US commitment to acknowledge Tibet as part of China," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by PTI.
Blinken's Visit to Delhi
Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, had arrived in India on Tuesday, 27 July, for a two-day visit. The Biden administration representative met with PM Modi, NSA Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, as well as a group of civil society leaders during his time in Delhi.
In the meeting between Secretary Blinken and PM Modi, the two discussed matters such as regional challenges and a growing range of cooperation on COVID response efforts, climate change, shared values, democratic principles, and regional security, including Quad consultations.
Blinken, who also met a group of civil society members ahead of his meetings with the Indian political leaders on Wednesday, said "We believe that all people deserve to have a voice in their governments and be treated with respect, no matter who they are. These are fundamental tenets of democracies, like ours, and our purpose is to give real meaning to these words and constantly renew our commitment to these ideals."
"At a time of rising global threats to democracy and international freedoms – we talk about a democratic recession – it's vital that we two world-leading democracies continue to stand together in support of these ideals," he stated, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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