Dalai Lama invokes Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai slogan, says Doklam standoff not very serious

NEW DELHI: Speaking on the Dokalam standoff between India and China, the Dalai Lama on Tuesday invoked "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai" to assert that the two nations will have to live side by side in peace and said temporarily some harsh words are being used but the situation is not very serious.

Speaking at the Rajendra Mathur Memorial Lecture for the Editor's Guild of India, the 81-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader said: "I don't think the tension is very serious. I don't think both sides want war. Eventually the only way forward is ' Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai'. These are two big nations and neither have the ability to defeat each other, so they have to live side by side in peace," he said.

The Dalai Lama also said that in the current age any problem has to be solved through talks. "For peace, we have to promote dialogue. We have to talk to ensure there is reconciliation. This is the only way. One side's retreat and defeat is a thinking of the past. In the modern times, every country is dependant on each other. The destruction of a neighbour is the destruction of yourself," he said.

The suggestions given by the spiritual leader is similar to the position taken by India. Last week, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said that war is not a solution and India would resolve the standoff with China through dialogue.

India and China have been locked in a standoff in the Doklam area since June 16, after Indian troops stopped the Chinese Army from building a road in the area. China claims that it was constructing the road within its territory- which belongs to Bhutanand has been demanding immediate withdrawal of the Indian troops from the disputed Dokalam plateau.

The Dalai Lama added that India and China sometimes use "harsh words" and as a reminder said that even during the 1962 India-China war the Chinese forces eventually withdrew.

On whether there will be resumption of talks between the Central Tibetan Authority and China, the spiritual leader—who had fled a Chinese crackdown in Lhasa and took refuge in India in 1959—said that it could take place after the 19th national congress of the Communist Party of China, which is to take place later this year.

On whether he desires to return to Tibet, the Dalai Lama said, "It is too early to say...I don't know. But as you (host) mentioned, I am the son of India."

He added: "In India there is freedom. I can share my thoughts and knowledge here. But out there, there is no freedom."

On China, he said: "I love Chinese people. They are cultured and hard working."

He said the government was "different" but that its thinking has changed over the decades.