China plays duplicity and never implements practically what it promises in their talks
By Brig. K.G. Behl (Retd.), Patron, Dehradun Ex-Services League
In his teleconferencing address to the United Nations Assembly on 22nd Sept. 2020, Mr. Xi Jinping, President of People’s Republic of China stated that China does not want war in any form, hot or cold and has no expansionists designs towards any other country. As one of the biggest countries in the world, it wishes to have good diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries. But on the contrary China has been creating boundary problems with many countries including India or other countries around South China sea. Lately, China had been moving their troops in large number from one place to another and trying to show their strength by carrying out defence exercises using latest weapons and equipment.
In recent high level talks in Ladakh the Chinese have not agreed to withdraw their troops back from the areas where they have brought close to LAC against the laid down agreement. Firstly they had no business to bring such a large number of troops, weapons and equipments that far from China and bring them to Tibet where they
have only suzerainty and not monarchy. Tibet is supposed to have their own Govt. where they propagate their religion and have a peaceful rule. As such China has no right to military bases there and carry out exercises. It may be mentioned here that Tibet had no boundary disputes with any of the adjoining countries and it is only China who is creating boundary problems and inciting countries like Nepal to create problems with others.
Moreover it is now learnt that China is pushing number of rural labourers off the land into recently built military style training centres where they are being turned into factory workers as coercive labour. This mass scale transfer of rural labourers within Tibet and other parts of China as loyal workers for Chinese industry and other expending designs. Under this repression China has established big military bases in Tibet and are forcing peace loving Tibetan religious monks to leave Tibet and are destroying their monasteries.
Immediately after China got freedom in 1949 under Peoples’ Republic of China, People’s Liberation Army crossed into Tibet and after defeating a small Tibetan army occupied half the country and imposed the so called 17 point agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet” in May, 1951 because it was signed under duress, the agreement lacked validity under international law. The Presence of 40,000 Chinese troops in Tibet, the threat of an immediate occupation of Lhasa and the prospect of total obliteration of the Tibetan State left Tibetans little choice. However in 1954, the Chinese Govt. convinced India that they will establish a proper Tibetan religious state and their troops will go back to China. As a result the Indian Govt. agreed for suzerainty of Tibet to China.
But as the resistance of the Chinese occupation escalated, particularly in Eastern Tibet, the Chinese repression, which included of religious buildings and the imprisonment of monks and other community leaders, increased dramatically. By 1959, popular uprising culminated in massive demonstration in Lhasa region alone. By the time China crushed the uprising, 87,000 Tibetans were dead in the Lhasa region alone and the Dalai Lama fled to
India, where he now heads the Tibetan Government-in-exile headquartered in Dharamshala, India. In 1963, the Dalai Lama promulgated a constitution for a democratic Tibet. It has been successfully implemented, to the extent possible, by the government-in-exile.
In view of the above, United Nations must tell China in no uncertain words that they must vacate Tibet and withdrew their troops from there and allow Tibetans to settle down in Tibet peacefully including those who have been forced earlier to go on exile to others countries. Moreover they should desist from making claims on lands in other countries where they have no any jurisdiction.