Chinese state media on Sunday blamed India for the alleged unfurling of the “Tibetan national flag,” a pro-independence symbol adopted by the Tibetan government-in-exile, in Ladakh’s Pangong Lake area. The reported unfurling comes amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Beijing. As per an article published in Chinese government mouthpiece Global Times, “the flag-hoisting on Indian territory has sparked wide speculation over whether the Indian authorities instigated the political activity of Tibetan separatists to exert pressure on China.” The article, titled as “New Delhi must resist using Dalai Lama card amid border spat”, says that if New Delhi is pulling the strings of the Tibetan exiles’ political act of flag-hoisting, “it will only have burned itself”. Authored by writer Yu Ning, the article further says that both border issues and the Tibet question concern China’s core interests, and it will not yield to provocations.
Citing the recent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops, Global Times writes that Narendra Modi government should act prudently to avoid escalating tensions. “It(India) has the responsibility to control Tibetan exiles and their anti-China activities on Indian soil,” the article says. The article advises New Delhi to think more about how to de-escalate the border face-off at this moment. “China is India’s biggest trading partner. For India, with a vast population living in poverty, peace and opportunities of development are of vital importance,” Yu Ling writes. The article goes on to say that New Delhi cannot afford to mess up the China-India bilateral relationship.