The Dalai Lama’s successor will be born outside China, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism says in a new book, raising the stakes in a dispute with Beijing over control of the Himalayan region he fled more than six decades ago.

The Dalai Lama's latest book reveals his successor will be born outside China, intensifying tensions with Beijing, which insists on selecting the next spiritual leader. The 89-year-old outlines the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution,

The Tibetan Buddhist leader said the choice of a successor should be made according to traditional practices and that lamas and monks would conduct the search, setting up a clash with Beijing’s communist rulers.