Explained: How is the Dalai Lama chosen and why is China seeing red?

The 14th Dalai Lama has announced that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, his personal trust, will oversee the recognition and selection of his reincarnation. This decision carries significant geopolitical implications, particularly for India and China. The Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since 1959, was identified as the reincarnation of a past spiritual master at the age of two. The process of selecting a new Dalai Lama involves senior Lamas and monks looking for spiritual signs and testing young children born around the time of the previous Dalai Lama's death. China insists on choosing the next Dalai Lama, a claim rejected by Tibetan Buddhists. India has objected to China's demand, asserting that only the Dalai Lama has the authority to decide on his successor.