The Dalai Lama (photo) was in breach of Buddhist religious protocol when he suggested he might appoint a successor before his death instead of relying on reincarnation, China?s Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

The Dalai Lama, who is considered the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, told a Japanese newspaper during a visit to Tokyo that Tibetans would not accept a successor who was selected by China after his death.

?We believe the Dalai Lama?s remarks violate religious rituals and historic conventions,? Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular news conference. China has considered the Dalai Lama a traitor since he fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. The selection of lamas has since become a sore point between the two sides. In 1995, the Dalai Lama and Chinese authorities chose rival reincarnations of the 10th Panchen Lama, who died in 1989.