Pakyong (Sikkim) [India], July 12 (ANI): Rajya Sabha MP Dorjee Tshering Lepcha reaffirmed the need to recognise Tibet, urging the Centre on Saturday to call the approximately 1,200 kilometre international boundary of Sikkim as the 'Indo-Tibet border' instead of the 'Indo-China border.'

The Rajya Sabha MP visited the Machong village in Sikkim on Saturday, a border village, where he reiterated the demand.

'I raised an issue in the Parliament during the Budget Session that this is the Tibet border, not the China Border. The central government should direct the central agencies, like Army, BRO, that they must call it the Indo-Tibet Border, not the Indo-China border,' MP Lepcha told mediapersons.

Lepcha, in the 2024 monsoon session of Parliament, had asked the Centre not to use the term 'Indo-China border' and instead call it the 'Indo-Tibet' border.

He had urged the central agencies to adopt this terminology officially during his address.

Lepcha further mentioned that Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu had also mentioned that the Indian states share a border with Tibet, not China.

'Two days ago, Arunachal CM also gave a similar statement, he had told a news organisation that this is the Tibet border, not the China border,' he said.

The statements by both the RS MP and the Arunachal CM come amid China's repeated claims over the territory of Tibet. The issue was brought up recently as the Dalai Lama celebrated his 90th birthday on July 6.

The Dalai Lama has also affirmed that only his office holds the authority to identify his successor, a strong counter to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) ongoing attempts to interfere in Tibetan religious affairs, according to the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), as reported by Taipei Times.

The 14th Dalai Lama, who turned 90 on Sunday, declared last week that the institution of the Dalai Lama would continue and that his successor, the 15th Dalai Lama, would be born outside of China.

'In accordance with past tradition, the search for my reincarnation and the naming of a 15th Dalai Lama will be carried out,' he said, firmly stating that only his office has the legitimate authority to determine his reincarnation, Taipei Times reported.

Tashi Tsering, HRNTT secretary-general, praised the Dalai Lama's remarks as 'a powerful statement striking back at the CCP'. He condemned Beijing's baseless claim that it has the right to choose the next Dalai Lama and reiterated that such authority resides solely with His Holiness and his institution. (ANI)