A second difficulty has been the geographic meaning of Tibet. The Dalai Lama wants that all the traditional Tibetan lands and people be brought under one political roof within China. Beijing insists that current internal borders drawn for the Tibet Autonomous Region correspond to the historical reality and cannot be altered. A third problem centres on the scope of autonomy for Tibet within China.

It is not the inherent political complexity of these issues that now threatens to derail the peace process between Beijing and Dharmashala. It is the declining mutual trust that is so critical for the success of any negotiation. The Tibetans are looking for a reassurance that they are not being strung out in an endless series of “talks about talks”. It is in Beijing’s own interest to offer some tangible interim gains to its Tibetan interlocutors. More fundamentally, China needs all the moral authority of the Dalai Lama to ensure that any settlement with the Tibetan people endures.

Beijing’s relentless demonisation of the Dalai Lama may look tactically smart. It is only the Dalai Lama who can help China consolidate its territoriality in Tibet, in its internal dimension as well as the external aspect involving India.

The writer is professor at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore