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, news agency PTI reported.
The Tibetan leader was in Jammu as the chief guest for a two-day national working committee meet-cum-seminar of the Bharat Tibet Sangh, which was organised in partnership with the University of Jammu's Department of Buddhist Studies.
"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 power base to challenge its hegemony in the Asian region," Tsering was quoted as saying by PTI.
He was responding to inquiries about clashes between Indian and Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh's Galwan Valley in 2020 and Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector 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, PTI reported.
The Tibetan leader described the Chinese invasion as the result of "wishful thinking," saying such acts will not benefit anyone and that it will take many years for the Chinese government to win the trust of the Indian government and people.
Asserting that Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has always favoured good neighbourly relations between India and China, he said China's aggressive moves are reopening the wounds of the 1962 Sino-India war.
"If China continues to believe that India is as weak as it was in 1962, they are mistaken. India has come a long way in the last few decades and cannot be beaten," he stated.
He stated that India has always been a peaceful nation that has never believed in aggression. "We've witnessed Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi reaching out to the Chinese authorities and visiting the nation twice," he said, according to PTI.
He stated that the Tibetan people admire India "We see ourselves as an extension of a particular aspect of Indian culture. We are descendants of ancient Indian wisdom." When asked about the Congress' criticism of India's handling of China's intrusions, he responded, "Politicians may hold differing viewpoints, and the opposition's responsibility is to resist. In a democracy, constructive criticism is always welcome."
"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 stated on Friday that China is preparing for war and accused the government of attempting to "ignore" the threat, claiming that the administration was "asleep" and unprepared to confront the situation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reacted angrily to Gandhi's attack on the government, accusing the Congress leader of attempting to create a misunderstanding in the country and demoralising Indian soldiers by claiming that this is not Jawaharlal Nehru's India of 1962.
(With Inputs From PTI)