Dalai Lama warns against China containment

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama warned major nations on Tuesday not to try to contain China's economic and military rise, and urged countries like Australia to use their trading clout to pressure Beijing on human rights.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, speaking in Canberra, said he shared concerns about growing strategic and trade ties between the United States, India, Japan and Australia, which Beijing has interpreted as moves towards encirclement.

"It is absolutely wrong to isolate China and also contain China. It's wrong, morally also wrong," the Dalai Lama told the Australian National Press Club.

"China must be brought into the mainstream of the world community, and now fortunately China themselves want to join the world community. Most welcome. Very good.

"However ... while you are making good relations, genuine friendship with China, certain principles such as human rights and also democracy, rule of law, free press, these things you should stand firm. That means you are a true friend of China."

The United States, Japan and Australia have said their growing defense ties are not aimed at containing China, even though India last month joined the three in security talks.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard and pro-China opposition leader Kevin Rudd said on Tuesday they would ignore pressure from Beijing's Canberra embassy not to meet the Tibetan Buddhist leader, despite vague warnings of repercussions.

After weeks of diary searching Howard found he could make time to meet the Dalai Lama on Friday in Sydney. Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat, went back on an earlier refusal and met him on Tuesday at a Canberra hotel.

CHINA CRITICISM

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang criticized the Dalai Lama's visit to Australia.

"The Dalai is not a purely religious figure; he is a long-term political exile who engages in splitting the motherland and sabotaging unity among ethnic groups," Qin said in Beijing.

"We express our strong dissatisfaction and stern representations over Australia ignoring China and insisting on allowing the Dalai to engage in activities in Australia."

The Australia Tibet Council urged Rudd, who is riding high in the polls, to support greater autonomy for Tibet if he won power in a general election later this year.

But China warned Australia against supporting Tibet.

"The issues of the Dalai and Tibet are absolutely not human rights issues, but issues about separatism and anti-separatism. We hope that the Australian government will be able to fully understand this issue," said Qin. China has overtaken Japan as Australia's biggest trading partner, although Canberra's strategic interests remain closely allied with those of Washington.

Australia's statistics office said in May the nation's trade with China had hit A$52.7 billion ($44.3 billion) in the year to March, surpassing bilateral exchanges with Japan as energy-hungry China's demand for Australian resources continued.

The Dalai Lama admitted China's fast-growing world influence was hampering his access to some world leaders to press demands for greater autonomy, not independence, for his predominantly Buddhist homeland.

But support for an autonomous Tibet was growing in the United States and some small European nations, he said, although some nations were understandably reluctant to cross China.

"I think the more serious concern, I think the public sympathy, public concern, it seems like it's increasing," the Dalai Lama said, adding that he was unconcerned if he did not secure a meeting with Howard.

The Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, fled into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule.

($1=A$1.19)