In a subtle message to China, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday met a representative of the Dalai Lama. This meeting was a major interaction of the US with the Tibetans-in-exile since the Dalai Lama met the then President Barack Obama in Washington in 2016.
Blinken met briefly with Ngodup Dongchung, who serves as a representative of Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also known as the Tibetan Government-in-exile.
A US State Department spokesperson said, “Secretary Blinken had an opportunity to meet briefly this morning in New Delhi with a representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
This meeting may irk China as some days back US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had said China was working against the shared principles and interests of the US and its partners across the Indo-Pacific.
Meanwhile, the CTA and Tibetan advocacy groups have received a boost in international support in recent months amid rising criticism of China’s human rights record, particularly from the United States.
