China has warned India to stay out of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation process, calling it a purely internal matter and urging New Delhi not to host activities supporting Tibetan independence.
The statement came on Sunday as the new political leader of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) prepared to take oath of office.
What the Chinese Embassy said
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Yu Jing said the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama follows long-established religious rituals and historical conventions that have required approval from China’s central government for centuries. Yu Jing added that the 14th Dalai Lama himself was recognised through the same process.
“The issue of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation is purely an internal matter of China and should not be subject to external interference,” the spokesperson said.
China also dismissed the CTA’s standing entirely, saying it is not recognised by any sovereign country and has neither the legitimacy to represent the Tibetan people nor the authority to speak on the reincarnation process.
China’s message to India
Beijing referenced India’s existing commitments on Tibet and said it hoped New Delhi would honour them — specifically by not providing a platform for Tibetan independence advocacy and by staying out of the succession question. China framed compliance as a condition for stable bilateral relations.
Not a new pressure point
This is not the first time Beijing has raised the issue with New Delhi. Last year, the Chinese embassy described the Dalai Lama succession as a “thorn” in India-China relations remarks that followed the Dalai Lama’s public assertion that China had no role in choosing his successor.
The core dispute is doctrinal as much as political. Tibetan Buddhist tradition holds that a senior monk’s soul reincarnates after death, with the next Dalai Lama identified through religious signs and processes. China insists that Beijing must formally approve any successor.
India’s position
The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in Dharamsala, India, since 1959, after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet. India is also home to roughly 70,000 Tibetan exiles and the Tibetan government-in-exile. Indian foreign policy analysts have long noted that the Dalai Lama’s presence gives New Delhi quiet but real strategic leverage over Beijing leverage China is now, again, trying to neutralise.
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