Tibet leader fears China gains as US gets caught up in Iran war

Philip J. Heijmans, Sudhi Ranjan Sen, Bloomberg News on Mar 14, 2026

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The head of Tibet’s government-in-exile said his administration is closely monitoring whether the escalating war in Iran may give China room to deepen its interests on the Himalayan plateau and other regional flash points.

Penpa Tsering, the elected leader of the Central Tibetan Administration, said observers are gauging whether the conflict could dilute U.S. focus on Asia and embolden China in Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea. Tibet, he added, remains another critical frontier that has faced decades of Chinese militarization.

“We’re watching everything and looking at what could be possible opportunities, political challenges for us to be able to survive from a Tibetan perspective,” Tsering said from his offices in northern India on Friday.

China took control of Tibet after Communist troops entered the region in 1950. Following a failed 1959 uprising, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamshala, where the exile administration has operated for over six decades. Tsering, who took office in 2021, works closely with the Dalai Lama and leads a government that relies heavily on U.S. diplomatic and financial support.

Tsering lauded President Donald Trump for his support during his first term and for appointing Riley Barnes as special coordinator for Tibetan issues after returning to office. However, the Sikyong — Tibetan for political leader — signaled he has yet to speak with the appointed official or with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had been a staunch ally in the Senate.

Trump has said little about Tibet since returning to office last year, though Beijing rebuked Washington after Rubio publicly wished the Dalai Lama a happy birthday. Tsering said last year that reducing business with China is the only way to bring the country to its “knees” and welcomed Trump’s harsh economic measures against Beijing.

Tsering also lamented U.S. aid cuts last year, which he said undercut his administration even after the funding was partially restored. With Trump scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in a few weeks, he signaled low expectations that Tibet would be raised.

“So far, President Trump has never touched on Tibet,” Tsering said. “I’ve never heard him utter the word Tibet, but then of course there are a lot of talks that the president’s administration doesn’t care about human rights.”

“A lot will depend on how things shape up in the Middle East and how both countries look at what can be achieved or what cannot be achieved,” he said.

In July 2024, former U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law the bipartisan Resolve Tibet Act, which called on Beijing to resume dialogue with Tibetan representatives and directed U.S. officials to counter what Washington describes as Chinese disinformation about Tibet’s history and governance. China denounced the legislation that it says “grossly interferes in China’s domestic affairs.”

Beijing considers Tibet an inseparable part of China and labels the Dalai Lama and his supporters as separatists. The spiritual leader, however, has said he does not seek independence but “genuine autonomy” for Tibet within China under what he calls the Middle Way approach. Chinese officials have repeatedly criticized foreign governments for meeting him or engaging with the exile administration.

Succession remains another sensitive matter. Beijing has said it has the authority to approve the Dalai Lama’s eventual successor under Chinese law, while the 90-year-old has said any reincarnation would be determined according to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, raising the prospect of rival claimants and renewed diplomatic friction.