The files detail an annual $180,000 subsidy to support Tibetan resistance activities, part of a broader U.S. covert strategy against China from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Newly declassified U.S. government documents reveal that the Dalai Lama received financial support from the CIA during two decades of Tibetan unrest — a Cold War-era program designed to weaken Beijing and bolster Tibetan resistance movements.
According to the documents, the Dalai Lama received a $180,000 annual subsidy from the agency as part of a larger U.S. intelligence operation that funded paramilitary training, political activities, and foreign exile networks connected to Tibet from the 1950s through the 1970s.
The revelation echoes earlier disclosures from the 1998 congressional “Foreign Relations of the United States” (FRUS) volume, which detailed covert U.S. support for Tibetan groups opposed to the People’s Republic of China.
A COVERT U.S. STRATEGY DURING THE INDIA–CHINA CONFLICT
The documents also describe how the 1962 India-China war factored into a broader U.S. Cold War strategy in Asia, with Washington seeking to counter Chinese influence through intelligence partnerships with India and Tibetan exile groups.
The programs included:
- Financial assistance to Tibetan leadership in exile
- Training Tibetan operatives in the United States and India
- Providing communications and logistical help during regional conflicts
The newly released files suggest that Washington viewed Tibetan unrest — and the Dalai Lama’s exile movement — as a valuable political and psychological tool in the global confrontation with Beijing.
The CIA ended these activities in the early 1970s as U.S.–China relations shifted.
DALAI LAMA’S POSITION
The Dalai Lama has previously acknowledged that his administration received U.S. funding during the Cold War, stating that it was used for educational and administrative purposes for the Tibetan exile community — not for armed operations.
He has long denied personal involvement in paramilitary campaigns and emphasized that his movement is based on non-violence, dialogue, and religious freedom.
GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE
The new disclosures arrive at a tense moment in U.S.–China relations, adding historical context to Washington’s decades-long involvement in Tibetan affairs.
Analysts say the files shed light on:
- Cold War proxy strategies in Asia
- The historical roots of the Tibet–China dispute
- U.S.–India intelligence cooperation before and during the 1962 war
Chinese officials have long accused the U.S. of interfering in Tibet — often citing these very programs.
