China has objected to the 14th Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
China’s state media today warned India that it would “end up in paying dearly” should it continue “playing the Dalai Lama card”.
“If India wants to continue this petty game, it will only end up in paying dearly for it,” the state-run Global Times daily said in an op-ed article. It added that the Dalai Lama was never a wise choice for India.
“Putting Dalai Lama into its toolbox against China is another trick played by New Delhi lately. New Delhi would be too ingenuous to believe that the region belongs to India simply because the Dalai Lama says so,” the daily said, in a reference to Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as its territory.
The op-ed comes two days after the Chinese government announced their own names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh, terming it as a “legitimate action”.
“It is time for India to do some serious thinking over why China announced" its own names, the article said and added that it will intensify similar measures in the future,.
Yesterday, the Centre reacted sharply to China’s provocative move with Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Gopal Baglay asserting Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India. The Centre further said that assigning invented names to towns does not legitimise China’s illegal territorial claims.
China has strongly objected to the visit of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s supreme spiritual leader, to Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district. China demanded that the 81-year-old’s visit be called off but India rejected the demand, saying China was trying to create an “artificial controversy” over the visit.
(with inputs from PTI)