The ongoing visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh has the Chinese press working overtime, criticising the Indian government for permitting him to visit Tawang, an area it claims as part of Tibet.

China had been objecting to the visit ever since it was announced and as the date drew close, the level of protests increased. It summoned the Indian ambassador in Beijing while simultaneously lodging an objection with the foreign ministry in Delhi. It stopped just short of threatening India with retaliation, hinting towards diplomatic and economic actions.

This is the Dalai Lama’s seventh visit to Tawang, so why raise objections now? China ‘officially’ considers the Dalai Lama as a threat to its occupation of Tibet. In their opinion he is not a religious head, but the instigator of all violence and protests in Tibet. It is the first time that Chinese protests have been of such magnitude. It is not possible that China has suddenly woken up to the fact that the Dalai Lama can break their stranglehold on Tibet, nor have they suddenly discovered that a visit to Tawang would change the perception of their claims. There are other reasons for its actions.

Last year the Dalai Lama visited Mongolia on a purely religious visit. He did not meet any representative of the government as the Mongolians did not wish to anger China. However, China took it as an affront, resorting to an economic blockade. India did try and come to the rescue of Mongolia with an offer of aid.

However, the Mongolians were forced to bend and promised China to never permit the Dalai Lama to enter again, despite the country being largely Buddhist. Many countries in South East Asia are either Buddhist or possess a sizeable Buddhist population. Some of these even border China or have an ongoing territorial dispute with it.

China maintains continuous pressure on them to prevent the Dalai Lama from visiting. China has always attempted to isolate him, but has never truly succeeded. India permitting his visit to Tawang, which would be possibly well reported in these countries, would impact China’s standing and others may be tempted to follow suit. Hence it must resort to serious objections.

China had also objected when the Dalai Lama, as part of a group of Nobel Laureates, had visited Rashtrapati Bhawan and met the President of India, last year. India had to issue a clarification stating that the visit was non-political. Similarly, when Prime Minister Modi invited the Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in exile to his swearing in, China protested.

China always protests whenever the Dalai Lama visits abroad, especially if he is to interact with the political leadership of any nation. The Dalai Lama could have been a threat to China’s forced occupation of Tibet when he escaped to India and was given refuge over half a century ago.

For decades post its occupation Tibet remained closed to the world, while China subjugated it, supressing any uprising with brute force, ignoring international criticism. In the present era, it has increased connectivity of Tibet with the mainland, forcefully pushed in Han Chinese, seeking to change the demography. It maintains a force capable of suppressing any anti-national action.

The Dalai Lama’s influence has also reduced in Tibet over time. China realizes that its decision of choosing Pakistan over India would possibly never bridge the gap with India, at least in the near term. Its objections to India joining the NSG, support to Azhar Masood in the UN and when the time comes, its desire to veto any reforms permitting Indian entry into the UN Security Council have driven the two nations further apart.

China is militarily and economically stronger and holds the cards, but realizes India is not a pushover, nor is India akin to Mongolia. With a slowing economy, China cannot play the economic card, as it would hurt itself more than India, since balance of trade is in Beijing’s favour and it seeks to expand its investments.

Militarily, it can never repeat 1962. India claims Aksai Chin, which China refuses to discuss. India has never agreed to the one-China policy of Taiwan being an integral part of China, thereby challenging China. It permitted a visit by a Taiwanese parliamentary delegation in February, angering China.

Recent intrusions and Indian response has shown Indian determination. India’s reluctance to join the ‘One Belt One Road (OBOR)’ and CPEC despite its coaxing proves India is willing to challenge Chinese hegemony. China has begun stoking the Arunachal issue by objecting to any dignitary visiting there as an act of aggression, as it did with the previous US Ambassador, Richard Verma.

A few months ago, India accepted Chinese objections and denied visas to the Uighur dissident Dolkun Isa, New York based Tiananmen Square protestor Lu Jinghua and Hong Kong based activist Ray Wong to attend the inter-faith conference in Dharamsala. But nothing changed.

China still objected to India entering the NSG and held the veto on Azar Masood. Even if India had cancelled the Dalai Lama’s visit on Chinese protests, their attitude would have remained unaltered. For China, the Dalai Lama is just another card akin to Arunachal which it employs to indicate that relationships are disturbed. It realistically does not fear the Dalai Lama.

However, the Dalai Lama represents a suppressed nation and ensures that the world remembers the Tibetan cause. China worries about the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama, which could happen in India, an action it desperately seeks to control. Its strong protests on the visit indicate its aggressive attitude to the ongoing dispute, whose resolution is nowhere in sight.

India adopted the best response, issuing just one statement, remaining silent, neither provoking nor defending, letting the visit conclude, while silently conveying its message of independence in thought and action and unwillingness to be bullied by a stronger and more powerful neighbour.

The writer is a retired Major-General of the Indian Army