BEIJING– Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Tibet underscores Beijing’s push to build strategic advantages in the region, positioning itself with an upper hand in balance-of-power dynamics and future border negotiations with India, according to a report.
The report, written by Rahul Karan Reddy, senior research associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA), pointed to Premier Li Qiang’s July 21 announcement on the Medong county dam project and Xi’s subsequent call to accelerate its development. “Perhaps China is cultivating a bargaining chip for negotiations with India, but with the sanction of the top leadership, riparian relations between India and China are now certain to become further securitised,” the report stated. It added that China’s insistence that such projects are an internal matter is likely to harden as India raises objections.
According to the analysis, Tibet’s infrastructure drive is becoming inseparable from India’s border security concerns. “Tibet’s development trajectory and infrastructure projects are becoming increasingly relevant to India’s border security and entangled with security competition with China,” the report noted.
Xi’s visit also spotlighted another sensitive issue: the Dalai Lama’s succession. ORCA observed that Beijing is preparing to tighten control over the process. “A high-profile visit to TAR just a month after the Dalai Lama’s announcement of a successor outside China and outside China’s influence, signals a hardening stance by Beijing; that China will persist with its integration strategy in Tibet and legitimise Party-appointed Tibetan institutions,” the report said. It suggested Xi’s trip could be laying the groundwork for countermeasures once the succession process begins, especially if New Delhi chooses to recognize or support the Dalai Lama’s decision.
While India and China have been in dialogue since last October, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Delhi marking steps toward normalisation, ORCA warned that developments in Tibet could heighten tensions. “Xi’s visit to TAR was a sharp reminder that developments in Tibet are closely tied to border security concerns for India; the Medong county dam is raising significant concerns about a ‘water bomb’ in some Indian states, and its construction could greatly accentuate security dilemmas in sensitive border regions,” the report said.
It further added that China’s firm response to the Dalai Lama’s succession remarks signals an uncompromising stance in Tibet. “Both the domestic governance priorities of the Party and China’s external signalling are indicating an increase in the complexity of security dynamics between India and China,” the report concluded. (Source: IANS)
