India Must Reclaim And Exercise Its Leverage On The Tibet Issue, Says Brahma Chellaney

Brahma Chellaney, a widely recognised figure in India’s strategic circles, suggest in his latest Op-Ed published in the Livemint, that India should unapologetically reclaim and exercise the leverage on the Tibet issue that it has long buried under the dust. India, he suggests, should play this card against Bejing, which not just sides with Pakistan on most issues, but also continues to occupy Aksai Chin and claims to an entire Indian state as its own.

“Had China been in India’s place, it is unthinkable that it would have shied away from employing the Tibet card or the trade card”, Chellaney writes.

China reacted strongly following Dalai Lama’s recent visit to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, saying that India should recognise Dalai Lama’s anti-Chinese and separatist nature and should respect China’s core interests and concerns. Referring to India’s response to this objection, Chellaney says that India shouldn’t have apologetically explained that it was “a non-political event”.

“Where was the need for India to explain apologetically that it was “a non-political event”— that too to a country that has no compunction in blocking UN sanctions on Pakistan-based terrorists or in frustrating India’s admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group?”, Chellaney writes.

China continue to interfere in India’s internal affairs by objecting to Dalai Lama’s visit to the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the recently conducted missile tests. In this respect, Chellaney says, New Delhi should send a clear message to Beijing that it can’t lay down the terms for India to follow.

Regarding the trade deficit, he suggests, India is in a position to employ trade as a political instrument against China. “ Fattened by a rapidly growing trade surplus with India that now totals almost $60 billion yearly, China has been busy undermining Indian security, either directly or through its surrogate Pakistan”, Chellaney writes.

Read the article here.