In message to China, Blinken meets Dalai's rep

July 28, 2021 18:04

Tibetan representative Geshe Dorjee Damdul attended a roundtable with Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday held a meeting with a senior representative of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, in a clear signal to China about the Biden administration's continued support to the Tibetan cause.

In the meeting, Ngodup Dongchung, an official in the Tibetan government-in-exile and representative of the Dalai Lama, thanked Blinken for the continued support by the US to the Tibetan movement.

When asked, a spokesperson of the US State Department told PTI, "Secretary Blinken had an opportunity to meet briefly this morning in New Delhi with a representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Central Tibetan Administration Representative Ngodup Dongchung."

Separately, another Tibetan representative, Geshe Dorjee Damdul, attended a roundtable Blinken held with around seven civil society members.

On July 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called up the Dalai Lama and greeted him on his 86th birthday in what is seen in some quarters as a subtle message to China in the backdrop of the festering border row in eastern Ladakh. The 14th Dalai Lama has made India his home since fleeing China in 1959.

The Chinese government officials and the Dalai Lama or his representatives have not met in formal negotiations since 2010. Beijing has in the past accused the Dalai Lama of indulging in "separatist" activities and trying to split Tibet and considers him as a divisive figure.

However, the Tibetan spiritual leader has insisted that he is not seeking independence but "genuine autonomy for all Tibetans living in the three traditional provinces of Tibet" under the "Middle-Way approach".

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