China urges India to exercise caution on Tibet after Rijiju's remarks on Dalai Lama's successor
Beijing (PTI): China on Friday objected to Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju’s remarks that the incarnation of the Dalai Lama should follow his own wishes, urging India to act cautiously on Tibet-related issues to avoid its impact on the improvement of bilateral relations.
India should be clear of the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama and honour its commitments on Xizang (Tibet) related issues, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing here responding to a question on Rijiju’s comments. China refers to Tibet as Xizang.
India should exercise caution in its words and actions, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs with Xizang related issues and avoid impact on the improvement and development of the China-India relationship, Mao said.
Rijiju on Thursday asserted that the decision on the incarnation of the Dalai Lama would be taken by the established institution and the leader of Tibetan Buddhists himself and no one else.
It was the first reaction from a senior Indian government functionary on the comments of the Dalai Lama on his successor.
On Wednesday, the Tibetan spiritual leader said that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue, and only the Gaden Phodrang Trust - founded by his office in 2015 - will have the authority to recognise his future reincarnation.
Rijiju's remarks came after China rejected the Nobel Peace laureate's succession plan, insisting that any future heir must receive its seal of approval.
Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, and Rajiv Ranjan Singh, a fellow Union minister, are representing the Government of India at the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday celebrations in Dharamshala on July 6.
The minister said that the birthday event is a religious function and has nothing to do with politics.
Mao reiterated China’s stand that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, the second-high priest of Tibetan Buddhism, has to comply with rigorous religious rituals and historical conventions in line with domestic search, lots drawn from a 'golden urn' and the central government's approval.
The present 14th Dalai Lama went through this procedure and was approved by the then-central government, she said.
The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must uphold those principles and follow religious rituals, historical conventions, Chinese law and regulations, she said.
Mao’s comments related to the improvement and development of relations refer to the efforts by both India and China to normalisation of ties after over four years of freeze following the Eastern Ladakh standoff.
The two countries resumed ties after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit at Kazan in Russia last year followed by a series of high-level meetings.
The resumption of the Kailash and Mansarovar Yatra for Indian pilgrims, which began recently, is stated to be the first step initiated by the two countries to normalise ties.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
