Ladakh face-off part of China's 'expansionist strategy': Tibetan leader

Condemning the recent killing of 20 Indian soldiers during a face-off with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley, Tibetan government-in-exile President Lobsang Sangay on Monday said that it is a part of China's "expansionist strategy".

This "grand design" of China is going to continue and India should form an alliance of all democracies of the world to put pressure on the government of that country.

Speaking at a webinar organised by Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Sangay, also the political successor to the Dalai Lama, said the recent incident at the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh is part of China's "expansionist strategy".

Read: At least 20 Indian Army personnel martyred in face-off with China in Ladakh

"We have condemned the attack. It should not have happened," the president of Central Tibetan Administration said.

China, he said, is a country "which does not have any credibility or legitimacy for which it is creating tension with India and other neighbouring countries".

Recalling the Chinese occupation of his country, Sangay said that China had said that it needs to build a road to Tibet for trading purposes. "But once the road was completed, China sent tanks and military to Tibet to occupy the zone. All these were pre-planned by China."

China, he said, had promised peace to Tibet. "But in the end we lost all. Now, they (China) are extracting the mineral resources of Tibet for their own benefit."

According to him, the original Chinese territory was within the Great Wall. "Now they have gone beyond it by entering into Mongolia, Manchuria and Tibet. It is all part of China's expansionist strategy."

Insisting that "the blueprint that was used by China for Tibet can be used for India as well," the Tibetan leader said, adding that "they (China) will buy off the political and business leaders, intellectuals, journalists and celebrities first".

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He suggested that since India is a big democracy, it should form an alliance of all democracies in the world and this will exert pressure on the Chinese government.

Sangay said 10 major rivers flow from Tibet and the Chinese army is controlling the water flow as China has not signed the UN convention on water sharing.

He said that the 'Panchsheel Agreement' signed between India and China was to ensure trade and tranquility. It also included trade with Tibet.

"But the Chinese government changed it to tension and treachery. This status quo has to be restored," he argued.

According to him, Tibet has been historically a zone of peace and acted as a buffer between India and China.

"Now India-Tibet border has now been changed to India-China border. We must go back to the same historical place", Sangay said, adding that the movement by the Dalai Lama has to succeed.

He urged celebrities of the country to stop endorsing Chinese products in response to the boycott call given in India after the attacks in Ladakh.