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China renews protest over Dalai Lama Tawang visit

AP

The Dalai Lama greets supporters at a teaching session in the Himalayan town of Tawang, near the frontier with Chinese-controlled Tibet, Arunachal Pradesh state, India, 10 November 2009. China has protested the Tibetan spiritual leader’s week-long visit to the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh that began Sunday after months of rising friction between India and China.AP/Anupam Nath/India

China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it opposed and was dissatisfied with India’s allowing a visit to a disputed border region by Tibet’s exiled leader the Dalai Lama.

Spokesman Qin Gang’s comments were the latest expression of China’s displeasure over the Buddhist spiritual leader’s week-long trip to the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

“We oppose the Dalai Lama’s visit,” Qin said in response to a question at a regularly scheduled news conference about the trip, which began Sunday after months of rising friction between India and China.

“We’re very unsatisfied,” Qin said.

The Dalai Lama has been holding prayer meetings and teaching sessions with adherents in the Himalayan town of Tawang, near the frontier with Chinese-controlled Tibet.

Arunachal Pradesh is one of two disputed border regions claimed by both China and India, who fought a border war in 1962 and have had stretches of increased tensions ever since.

India has responded to China’s demands to call off the trip by saying the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959, was an honoured guest and free to visit any part of the country.

China regards the Dalai Lama as seeking formal independence for Tibet, which it claims has been Chinese territory for four centuries. The Dalai Lama says he seeks only a high level of autonomy under Chinese rule for the Himalayan region, although many of his supporters say Tibet was effectively an independent country for most of its history.

On Monday, Indian officials restricted access to the Dalai Lama by journalists covering the visit in an apparent effort to minimise tensions with China.

The relatively muted tone of Qin’s comments also appeared to signal a desire by Beijing not to further aggravate the dispute.

Copyright © 2009 AP

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