GUWAHATI, July 6 - The Chinese aggression in Ladakh was not the first such instance and it will not be the last. Dokalam incident in 2017 and the present aggressions in Ladakh and Sikkim are just tips of the iceberg, warned Dr Lobsang Sangay, President of the Central Tibetan Administration (Tibetan Government in Exile).
The following are the excerpts of an interview with Dr Sangay:
The Assam Tribune: What is your opinion about the present standoff in Ladakh, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed?
Dr Sangay: For the last 70 years, we have been saying that what happened to Tibet should be a lesson. When Tibet was occupied, Mao Zedong and Chinese communist leaders strategized that Tibet is the palm and Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal are the five-fingers. By invading Tibet, the palm, now Chinese troops are coming into these five fingers.�
AT: How Tibetans living across the globe are reacting to such disturbances along the international border?
Dr Sangay: As I said before, we Tibetans condemn any kind of violent act, particularly ongoing China�s military aggressions in the Himalayan borders. China�s aggressive manoeuvres are being felt and witnessed around the globe, whether it is co-opting the elites, bullying other nations, using economic influence to advance its own agenda or the border incursion and the maritime aggression.
AT: What is your opinion on China�s actions along the border and do you apprehend such troubles in other parts of the border?
Dr Sangay: Ongoing China�s military aggressions across the Himalayas are not the first military aggression by China and it won�t be the last. As matter of fact, India never shared a border with China, it is the Indo-Tibet border. Tibet served a Zone of Peace in the form of buffer between India and China for more than thousand years ago. Today, it is no longer the case since China�s invasion of Tibet in 1950. By invading Tibet, China has militarized the entire Tibetan Plateau, which poses security threats to Tibet�s neighbouring countries. For instances, China�s military encroachment in Dokalam in 2017, Ladakh and Sikkim are just the tip of the iceberg.
AT: You once said that as the major rivers including the Brahmaputra originates in erstwhile Tibet, Chinese control over the area can lead to water crisis in India and other countries of South East Asia. Can you please elaborate?
Dr Sangay: Apart from the geopolitical significance, Tibet is environmentally crucial for India as well as for Asia. As you might know, Tibet is also known as the �Water Tower of Asia. Ten major Asian rivers originate from Tibet, which feed one-third of the world�s densely populated nations such as China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Pakistan.�
China�s massive damming and diversion plan of the Brahmaputra inward Tibet pose unprecedented water crisis in India and Bangladesh. China�s dam-building frenzy is part of its strategy to monopolize the rivers and use water as one of the tools to further its own agenda.
Tibet being the water tower of Asia, the Asian century depends on Tibet�s security. Because without a peaceful and secured Tibet, it is difficult to dream the Asian century. Instead, we may witness the Asian tragedy.
