'Rijiju May Think He's Cute'... Chinese Media Attacks Junior Home Minister

Beijing: A day after China warned that India has "severely damaged" relations by enabling the Dalai Lama's trip to Arunachal Pradesh, its state-run media has attacked Junior Home Minister Kiren Rijiju, who said earlier this week that the border state is "an inseparable part of India".

"Rijiju might think himself cute in borrowing a line from Beijing's diplomatic representations, but he has ignored the fundamental distinction here: Like Taiwan and any other part of China, Tibet is a part of the Chinese territory no matter whether New Delhi agrees or not," said the China Daily in an editorial.

India has for decades rejected China's claim of Arunachal Pradesh as "southern Tibet"

On Tuesday, Mr Rijiju made it clear that China has no right to object to the Dalai Lama's travel in any part of India. Stating that it is not disputed territory, the minister said, "Arunachal Pradesh is an inseparable part of India and China should not object to his visit and interfere in India's internal affairs."

State-run media in China said the fact that Mr Rijiju is accompanying the Dalai Lama, who it considers a "dangerous separatist", is "a double affront." The aggressive stand follows China formally complaining yesterday to Indian Ambassador Vijay Gokhale over the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, his second in eight years.

Chinese media has said that the Dalai Lama is being given a series of public platforms, allowing him a higher profile, by the Modi government to retaliate against Beijing for its "vice like veto" that blocked New Delhi's entry to the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group last year. The 48-member bloc controls trade in sophisticated nuclear material and technology.

Newspapers in Beijing have said india is also upset with Beijing blocking a ban by the United Nations Security Council on Masood Azhar, the chief of Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has carried out deadly attacks in India.

"With a GDP several times higher than that of India, military capabilities that can reach the Indian Ocean and having good relations with India's peripheral nations, coupled with the fact that India's turbulent northern state borders China, if China engages in a geopolitical game with India, will Beijing lose to New Delhi?" said the Global Times.

The Dalai Lama, who is 81, fled Tibet in 1959 after Chinese troops poured in and occupied Tibet to crush an uprising. He entered India through Arunachal Pradesh and now resides in the hill town of Dharamsala, where his supporters also run a small government-in-exile. He has renounced any political role in leading the Tibetan diaspora.