China sees red as US names officer for Tibet affairs

BEIJING: China on Thursday accused the US of trying to destabilise Tibet, hours after Washington appointed a senior official to oversee Tibetan affairs as it mounts pressure on Beijing on human rights issues.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Wednesday named Robert Destro as the new special coordinator for Tibetan issues.

The US remains concerned with China’s “repression of the Tibetan community, including the lack of meaningful autonomy, the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibetan areas, and severe restrictions on Tibetans’ religious freedom and cultural traditions within China,” Pompeo said in statement.

Reacting sharply, the Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing will not allow foreign interference in its internal affairs.

“Setting up of the so-called special coordinator for Tibetan issues is entirely out of political manipulation to interfere in China’s internal affairs and destabilise Tibet,” said ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.

“China firmly opposes this (the interference) and has never recognised this,” Zhao said at the briefing when asked to comment on the appointment. China also said on Thursday the US was seriously undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait after a US Navy destroyer sailed through the waters amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Taipei. The spokesperson for its Eastern Theatre Command, Zhang Chunxuan, said air and sea forces were mobilised to keep tabs on Wednesday on the USS Barry, an Arleigh Burkeclass guided missile destroyer.