The Hindu
Atul Aneja
January 18, 2017
A top adviser of Donald Trump’s transition team, on a visit to China, revealed that the U.S. President- elect had declined the Dalai Lama’s request for a meeting, signalling the new administration’s openness to a policy review on Tibet.
The Chinese language website mingpao.com reported that in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Michael Pillsbury said the Dalai Lama had once expressed his wish to meet Mr. Trump, but this was turned down. However, Mr. Pillsbury, who was in China last week to participate in the Pangoal Think Tank forum earlier in the month, insisted that he was not a representative of the Trump administration in-waiting.
Any shift in U.S. position on the Dalai Lama is bound to have a downstream impact on India, which hosts the Tibetan leader. Last month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry had expressed its “strong opposition” to the Dalai Lama’s meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee at a Rashtrapati Bhavan function.
Position on Arunachal
In an article in National Interest, published on the eve of his arrival at the forum, Mr. Pillsbury said one of China’s long-standing demands is a ban on White House meetings with the Dalai Lama. He
also pointed out that Mr. Trump’s position on the status of Arunachal Pradesh, and arms sales to India, would be of major concern to China.
“China claims Arunachal Pradesh… Indians have been engaged recently in a military build-up to protect this province. They have asked other countries to support their claim to the territory. So far, the United States has not taken a position, despite subtle advances from Indian Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi.”
He added: “ … Whether President Trump supports India’s claim to Arunachal Pradesh and continues U.S. arms sales to India already requested by [Mr.] Modi, now America’s largest customer of weapons, is another Chinese worry about the coming year.”
U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Verma had visited Arunachal Pradesh on October 21 to attend a three-day local festival in Tawang, drawing strong criticism from China.
The website mingpao.co underscored that during his stay in China, Mr. Pillsbury also disclosed that India wants the Trump-administration to acknowledge Arunachal Pradesh as part of Indian territory.
