Has the India-UK Comprehensive Trade Deal Overlooked Tibet’s Strategic and Moral Significance?
India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
The India–United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, signed during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK on 23–24 July 2025, is a landmark achievement. It secures thousands of British jobs, boosts exports by £6 billion, and fosters economic growth for both nations. It is one of the biggest trade deals the UK has made since leaving the European Union in 2016. This free trade deal strengthens a vital partnership and should be celebrated for its economic promise. However, as nations with deep historical ties to Tibet, have Britain and India missed a critical opportunity to address Tibet’s future—a matter of shared strategic, security, and moral responsibility? Far from being a burden, Tibet is a meaningful cause that could enable all stakeholders, including China, to deliver justice and dignity to the Tibetan people, who have long endured Beijing’s oppression.
Economic Gains and Strategic Opportunities
The trade deal enhances UK access to India’s dynamic market, supporting industries like automotive and whisky while promoting collaboration in clean energy. Aligned with the UK’s “Indo-Pacific tilt” and India’s rising global influence, it creates a robust platform for economic and strategic cooperation. Yet, as an advocate for Tibet, I question whether the agreement overlooks Tibet’s critical role in regional security and the preservation of its cultural and spiritual autonomy, particularly in light of China’s growing aggression.
The UK–India–Tibet Historical Nexus
Britain and India share a profound historical connection with Tibet, rooted in diplomacy and shared values. In 1948, a Tibetan delegation led by Finance Minister Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa was received by Prime Minister Clement Attlee at 10 Downing Street. This followed the 1947 letters from the young 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Regent to Sir Basil Gould, Britain’s Political Officer in Sikkim, Bhutan, and Tibet. These letters, part of the Sir Basil Gould Collection, were withdrawn from a Bonhams auction in June 2025 after advocacy by the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) with the auction house and the Gould family. They were returned to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, received by Sikyong Penpa Tsering, President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), and will be displayed at the Tibet Museum in Dharamsala, affirming Tibet’s pre-1949 sovereignty and independent diplomacy before the People’s Republic of China was established.
Britain’s engagement with Tibet, from the 1904 Younghusband Expedition to the 1914 Simla Convention, which established the McMahon Line, recognised Tibet as an independent political entity. Similarly, British India’s 1941 “Report on the Discovery, Recognition and Installation of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama,” authored by Sir Basil Gould, who witnessed the 1940 enthronement ceremony as Britain’s representative, underscores both nations’ respect for Tibet’s spiritual traditions. Today, these centuries-old traditions face existential threats from China’s efforts to control the Dalai Lama’s succession, a process central to Tibetan Buddhist identity.
Tibet: A Strategic Buffer and Security Imperative
China’s occupation of Tibet eliminated a historic buffer between India and mainland China, replacing it with a militarised frontier that fuels conflicts, from the 1962 Sino-Indian War to recent clashes in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Restoring Tibet’s role as a neutral buffer state is not only a moral imperative but a strategic necessity for long-term Indo-Pacific stability. The CTA in Dharamsala, a democratic and legitimate continuation of Tibet’s governance, deserves recognition as a key stakeholder in resolving the Tibet–China conflict.
Have Britain and India, the nations most familiar with Tibet’s history, missed an opportunity to integrate this strategic priority into their trade partnership? By prioritising Tibet’s role, they could counter China’s territorial ambitions and promote a stable Himalayan frontier, benefiting all stakeholders, including China, by fostering peaceful coexistence.
Moral Responsibility and the International Rules-Based Order
As a permanent UN Security Council member, the UK, and as host to the Dalai Lama and the CTA, India, bear a unique moral responsibility to uphold the international rules-based order. China’s repression in Tibet—forcing children into colonial boarding schools, suppressing the Tibetan language and Buddhist practices, and the ongoing disappearance of figures like the 11th Panchen Lama since 1995—demands a robust response. Similar atrocities against Uyghurs in East Turkestan (Ch: Xinjiang) highlight China’s broader assault on cultural identities.
Tibet is not a liability but a unifying cause that aligns Britain, India, and the global community in pursuit of justice and dignity for the Tibetan people, who have endured decades of oppression. Economic prosperity and human rights are interconnected. By embedding support for Tibet’s self-determination and spiritual autonomy within their partnership, Britain and India can lead by example, showing that addressing Tibet’s plight strengthens their bilateral relations.
A Call for Pragmatic Support and Proactive Leadership
While celebrating the economic achievements of the UK–India trade deal, I urge both nations to reflect: have they done enough to address Tibet’s strategic and moral significance? Tibet is not a peripheral issue but a litmus test for democracies confronting authoritarianism. By supporting the CTA and championing Tibetan self-determination, Britain and India can strengthen the rules-based international order and secure long-term regional stability.
The UK must leverage its global influence, particularly through its UN Security Council platform, to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the Tibet–China conflict. India, as Tibet’s neighbour and host to its exiled leadership, should align its strategic interests with its moral obligations. Together, they can ensure Tibet’s future remains in the hands of its people, delivering justice and dignity to a resilient nation while fostering a stable and principled Indo-Pacific order.
Tsering Passang is the Founder and Chair of the Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM).
Tsering Passang
