NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with a consultant of Tibet`s non secular chief, the Dalai Lama, in New Delhi on Wednesday, a State Division spokesperson mentioned, a transfer that’s more likely to provoke anger in China.
Blinken met briefly with Ngodup Dongchung, who serves as a consultant of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also referred to as the Tibetan authorities in exile, the spokesperson mentioned.
Chinese language troops seized Tibet in 1950 in what Beijing calls a “peaceable liberation”. In 1959, the Dalai Lama fled into exile in India following a failed rebellion towards Chinese language rule.
The CTA and Tibetan advocacy teams have obtained a lift in worldwide help in latest months amid rising criticism of China`s human rights document, notably from the USA.
In November, Lobsang Sangay, the previous head of the Tibetan authorities in exile, visited the White Home, the primary such go to in six a long time.
A month later, the U.S. Congress handed the Tibet Coverage and Help Act, which requires the proper of Tibetans to decide on the successor to the Dalai Lama, and the institution of a U.S. consulate within the Tibetan capital Lhasa.
Blinken`s assembly with Dongchung is essentially the most important contact with the Tibetan management for the reason that Dalai Lama met then-president Barack Obama in Washington in 2016.
I used to be happy to fulfill civil society leaders in the present day. The U.S. and India share a dedication to democratic values; that is a part of the bedrock of our relationship and reflective of India’s pluralistic society and historical past of concord. Civil society helps advance these values. pic.twitter.com/5NL2WiQ13o
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) July 28, 2021
China`s overseas ministry didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Beijing says Tibet is part of China and has labelled the Dalai Lama a harmful separatist.
INDIA TIES
In his first go to to India since becoming a member of U.S. President Joe Biden`s administration, Blinken additionally met his Indian counterpart, International Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and different officers on Wednesday earlier than heading to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 2 sides are anticipated to debate provides of COVID-19 vaccines, the safety state of affairs in Afghanistan, and India`s human rights document.
Chatting with a bunch of civil society leaders at a New Delhi lodge, Blinken mentioned that the connection between the USA and India was “some of the vital on this planet”.
“The Indian folks and the American folks consider in human dignity and equality of alternative, the rule of legislation, basic freedoms together with freedom of faith and perception . . . these are the elemental tenets of democracies like ours,” he mentioned.
“And naturally, each of our democracies are works in progress. As mates we discuss that.”
Indian overseas ministry sources mentioned forward of Blinken`s go to that the nation was happy with its pluralistic traditions and blissful to debate the difficulty with him.
Modi`s authorities has confronted allegations of suppressing dissent, pursuing divisive insurance policies to attraction to its Hindu nationalist base and alienating Muslims, the nation`s greatest minority.
Blinken arrived in India on Tuesday night time and leaves for Kuwait afterward Wednesday.
