The `Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act,’ or Resolve Tibet Act, was passed by the US Congress on 12 June 2024 and subsequently signed into law by President Biden. The bipartisan bill is the third notable piece of legislation on Tibet and is a successor to the Tibetan Policy Act (2002) and the Tibetan Policy & Support Act (2020). 

The Act’s Key Provisions:

• Authorize the use of funds to counter Chinese disinformation about Tibet, “including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai Lama.”
• Reject the Chinese contention that Tibet has been a part of China “since ancient times” as “historically inaccurate.” 
• Urge China to engage in meaningful and direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama, his representatives, and democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan community “without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences.”

Following the Bill’s passage, a US delegation, which included both the Republican and Democrat co-authors of the bill, Jim McGovern and Michael McCaul, as well as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrived in Dharamshala to meet with the Dalia Lama and CTA leaders. Given the circumstances, New Delhi would have been arguably aware of the content of the speeches they would make – slamming China for its repression of the Tibetan people, calling for talks between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Beijing that were suspended in 2010 to be restarted, and for a Free Tibet. “This bill is a message to the Chinese government that we have clarity in our thinking on this issue for the freedom of Tibet,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “[The Dalai Lama’s] legacy will live forever, but you, the President of China, will be gone, and no one will give you credit for anything.”

Policy and Positional Differences between India and the US on the Tibet Issue

In 2022, the Tibetan Policy and Support Act stated, “It is the policy of the United States to coordinate with other governments in multilateral efforts towards the goal of a negotiated agreement on Tibet.” In this context, the possibility of future policy coordination between New Delhi and Washington has recently assumed significance, given the strategic convergence between the two partners on other major geopolitical issues related to China. However, the same is hindered by significant differences between the relative positions of India and the US on the Tibet question, even as both countries have acknowledged that the Tibetan Autonomous Region is a part of the People’s Republic of China.

This discussion brought together Indian and Tibetan experts and officials to discuss India’s Tibet policy and its future.