The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He previously said the person will be born outside China.

As the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday nears, Kiren Rijiju’s remarks on his successor spark a diplomatic clash with China and a strong rebuttal from the Tibetan government-in-exile.