China's aggression against India is due to insecurity, says Tibetan leader Penpa Tsering

The president of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, on Saturday said China's aggression against India is the outcome of its "feeling of insecurity" and aimed at establishing its hegemony in Asia.

The Tibetan leader was in Jammu as the chief guest at a two-day national working committee meet-cum-seminar of the Bharat Tibet Sangh, organised in collaboration with the Department of Buddhist Studies at the University of Jammu.

"China's aggression against India is the reflection of its feeling of insecurity...China's aim is to contain India so that there is no powerbase to challenge its hegemony in the Asian region," Tsering told reporters on the sidelines of the seminar.

Also Read | Modi government suppressing India-China border issue: Congress

He was responding to questions on the clashes between India and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control in Galwan Valley of Ladakh in 2020 and Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh on December 9.

"They are engaging in unprovoked belligerence against India despite the fact that these places are not inhabited by people. They are taking such actions to irritate the Indian government...," he said.

Terming the Chinese aggression the outcome of "wishful thinking", the Tibetan leader said such actions are not going to help anybody and it will take many years for the Chinese government to regain the trust of the Indian government and the people of India.

Asserting that Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has always supported good neighbourly relations between India and China, he said China is opening the wounds of the 1962 Sino-India war by their aggressive actions.

"If China continues to think that India is as weak as India used to be in 1962, then they are wrong. India has developed so much over the decades and it cannot be browbeaten," he said.

Also Read | US: China aggression reflects its attitude to our partners

He said India has always been a peaceful country which never believed in aggression. "We have seen Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi trying to reach out to the Chinese government and visiting the country twice," he said.

He said the people of Tibet respect India as "we consider ourselves as an extension of one part of Indian culture. We are part of ancient Indian wisdom."

Asked about the Congress criticism of the Indian government's handling of China's intrusions, he said, "Politicians may have different views and the job of the opposition is to oppose. Constructive criticism is always welcome in a democracy."

"But I believe the Indian leadership has taken a very strong position that unless there is a disengagement from all sectors where Chinese have intruded there will be no more normalisation of relations...India is standing its ground and that is where the respect comes in. Chinese will never accept any weak power."

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that China is preparing for war and accused the government of trying to "ignore" this threat, saying it was "asleep" and not ready to accept the situation.

Gandhi's attack on the government drew a sharp response from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which accused the Congress leader of trying to create a misconception in the country and demoralising Indian soldiers while asserting that it is not Jawaharlal Nehru's India of 1962