India will have "burned itself" if it has allowed Tibetan exiles' political act of flag-hoisting along the India-China border in Leh, a Chinese daily has warned.
An article in the Global Times warned India to act "prudently" given the ongoing border row in the Sikkim sector.
The article came in the wake of the head of the Tibetan government-in-exile Lobsang Sangay reportedly unfurling the Tibetan national flag on the banks of Pangong lake in Ladakh last week.
India and China have a dispute over the alignment of the Line of Actual Control which passes through the Pangong Lake, located at over 14,000 feet.
"If New Delhi is pulling the strings of the Tibetan exiles' political act of flag-hoisting, it will only have burned itself. Both border issues and the Tibet question concern China's core interests and China won't yield to provocations," the commentary said.
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"It's the first time the Tibetan exile administration in northern India has flown the flag at this location." it added.
"The timing of the flag-hoisting on Indian territory has sparked wide speculation over whether the Indian authorities instigated the political activity of Tibetan separatists to exert pressure on China.
"Although the involvement of New Delhi remains unclear, we hope they did not send any signal of approval," it said.
"When the Indian government attaches great importance to its relationship with China, it keeps a tight grip on anti-China political activities on its soil. However, when it is dissatisfied or has conflicts with Beijing, the Tibet card is played up. But India may overestimate the influence of Tibetan exiles.
"Given the ongoing border spat, the Indian government should act prudently to avoid escalating tensions. It has the responsibility to control Tibetan exiles and their anti-China activities on Indian soil.
"New Delhi should think more about how to de-escalate the border face-off at this moment," it said.
(Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based correspondent of IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com)
--IANS
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