China 'appreciates' India's stand on Tibet

China on Thursday appreciated the stand of the Indian government, recognising the Tibet autonomous region as an integral part of China, and New Delhi's assurance that it will not allow 'Tibetan separatist' activities in the country.

"The Indian government has said that the Tibet Autonomous Region is an integral part of Chinese territory and that they do not allow Tibetan separatist activities in India. We express our appreciation to the Indian side," said Jiang Yu, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.

She was replying to a question on whether Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's speech on the 51st anniversary of the Tibetans' National Uprising Day on Wednesday had any negative impact on China's ties with India.

"China and India are the promoters of the five principles of peaceful coexistence. One of the principles is mutual respect for each others' sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope China and India can develop conducive and comprehensive relations," she said.

The 74-year-old exiled spiritual leader accused China of trying to deliberately 'annihilate Buddhism' in Tibet by conducting a campaign of patriotic re-education in local monasteries.

"Today, the Chinese authorities are conducting various political campaigns, including a campaign of patriotic re-education in many monasteries in Tibet. They are putting the monks and nuns in prison-like conditions and depriving them of the opportunity to study and practise in peace," he said in a statement in Dharamsala.

On the 51st anniversary of the Tibetans' National Uprising Day, the Dalai Lama said these conditions "make the monasteries function more like museums and are intended to deliberately annihilate Buddhism".

On the attempt by Tibetan protesters to enter the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, the foreign ministry spokesperson said, "On March 10, Tibet independence forces attacked some Chinese diplomatic missions overseas. This further exposed the nature of the separatist forces against China. Basic laws governing diplomatic relations entail that countries need to respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Jiang underlined that no country in the world recognises the so-called Tibetan government in exile and no country recognises the independence of Tibet.

"Many countries have explicitly expressed their opposition to Tibetan independence and expressed opposition to activities by the Tibetan separatists," the official said.

"We express our appreciation to their position," she said and reminded that Vienna conventions warranted that diplomatic personnel and missions be protected.

To another question, she said, "On March 10, in India and some other countries, the Tibet independence forces tried to attack the Chinese embassies".

"Their attempts did not succeed and will not succeed in the future. Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and protection of diplomatic missions and personnel is an integral part of relations between different countries which does not need any consultation any more," the foreign ministry spokesperson underlined.