New Delhi, July 3 -- The Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that the 600-year-old institution of the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhists will continue and identified a body created by him as the sole authority to recognise his successor, effectively shutting out any role for China in deciding his reincarnation. In 2011, the Dalai Lama had said he would decide by his 90th birthday - which falls on July 6 this year - whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue. Over the years, the Dalai Lama has also said that the institution of the Dalai Lama could be wound up or that his successor could be a woman or someone born outside Tibet. The Communist Party of China has insisted that Chinese authorities will anoint the next Dalai Lama by pulling out a name from a "golden urn". The Chinese side contends this has for long been the way of choosing the successors of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, but this method has been rejected outright by the Dalai Lama and his millions of followers. The Dalai Lama made a video statement on Wednesday that made it clear that the 600-year-old institution will continue after his death and the responsibility for identifying the 15th Dalai Lama will rest exclusively with the India-based Gaden Phodrang Trust, his office. Recalling his remarks in 2011 about holding consultations with high Lamas of Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the Tibetan public when he turned 90 on "whether or not the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue", the Dalai Lama said he has "had no public discussions on this issue" over the last 14 years. However, he said leaders of Tibet's spiritual traditions, members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile, members of the Central Tibetan Administration, NGOs, "Buddhists from the Himalayan region, Mongolia, Buddhist republics of the Russian Federation and Buddhists in Asia including mainland China", had written to him "earnestly requesting that the institution continue". "In particular, I have received messages through various channels from Tibetans in Tibet making the same appeal. In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue," he said. "I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter," the Dalai Lama added. These remarks effectively rule out any role for China in recognising his reincarnation The Dalai Lama also said that the process by which his reincarnation is to be recognised had been clearly established in his statement of September 24, 2011, which stated that responsibility for this "will rest exclusively with members of the Gaden Phodrang Trust". The members of this trust "should consult the various heads of the Tibetan Buddhist traditions and the reliable oath-bound Dharma Protectors who are linked inseparably to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas", he said. "They should accordingly carry out the procedures of search and recognition in accordance with past tradition," he added. Representatives of all major Tibetan Buddhist traditions are attending the conference in McLeod Ganj, where the Dalai Lama has lived since an uprising in Tibet in 1959. The spiritual leader, who was recognised as the reincarnation of his predecessor at the age of two, in 2011, said that he would speak on the reincarnation when he reached the age of 90, keeping in view the future of Tibetan spiritual leadership and global Buddhist sentiments. Tibetans say that the process of recognising the reincarnations of lamas in Tibetan Buddhism is solely and uniquely a Tibetan religious tradition. Beijing maintains that the process of selecting its successor must adhere to Chinese law, asserting its control over Tibetan Buddhism and rejecting any succession beyond its authority, despite international criticism....