US appoints Tibet coordinator to send a message to China

Whatever be the reason, the relationship is going downhill. The latest point of contention is Tibet. The United States has appointed a Tibet coordinator — a senior human rights official.

He will "promote a dialogue between the Dalai Lama and China."

The post is not new butit's been lying vacant since Trump came to power.Now, in the thick of the election, he has filled the vacancy.

The message is clear, America doesn't want to leave any opportunity to pull China down.

Robert Destro, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour will take this job. The announcement comes right after China's re-election to the UN Human Rights Council — acouncil that America left two years ago.

The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo briefed the press yesterday. He used the opportunity to once again criticise China on its human rights violations.

"Whether it's Xinjiang, what's taking place there, whether it's Tibet, we've talked about that a little bit here this morning, whether that's in inner Mongolia and the inner Mongolians simple desire to live in freedom and exercise their own understandings of what freedom and human dignity look like. In each of those places and in Hong Kong, in each of those places, we simply are demanding of the chinese communist party what we ask of every nation is to preserve basic freedoms, human dignity, religious freedom for every one of their citizens," Pompeo said.

Clearly, the United States wanted to make a statement. They wanted to highlight China's persecution of minoritieson a day when China was re-elected to the Human Rights Council.

So what will America's new appointee do?

Beijing has never dealt with the special coordinator for Tibet and it won't deal with this one either. China criticised the appointment and said the USis meddling in its internal affairs.

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of Chinese ministry of foreign affairs said,"The establishment of the so-called 'special coordinator for tibetan issues' by the US is totally out of political manipulation and aiming to interfere in China's internal affairs and undermine the development and stability of Tibet. China always firmly opposed it and has never recognized it."

Such statements may not make any difference to America's approach. This month, the United States, alongside 39 other countries, raised China's rights violations at the United Nations.

A joint statement was presented to the General Assembly. It demanded that independent observers including the UN Human Rights Chief must have unfettered access to Xinjiang where more than one million muslims are facing persecution.

Last month, Mike Pompeo led a campaign to the Vatican. He urged the Pope to condemn China's human rights abuses. He was denied a meeting with the Pope, but Pompeo did communicate his stand to the Vatican's top officials.

In July, the US state departmentbarred the Chinese officials who restrict access to Tibet.

Chinese authorities who have restricted journalists, tourists, diplomats or American officials won't be able to get an American visa now.

The US has taken a tough stand against China on the issue of human rights.

What it needs is global consensus and the support, at least of the quad — Australia, Japan and India — to counter China on this.