Dalai Lama was asked if he wants to visit Taiwan. Here's his answer

Notably, China claims the democratic island of Taiwan as its own territory and says it should be taken by force if necessary. Taiwan resists, saying it is an independent country and will defend its freedoms and democracy in the face of China's aggression.

The Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that he prefers to stay in India since relations between Taiwan and mainland China are “quite delicate”. The Tibetan spiritual leader, who has time and again expressed his gratitude to the Indian government for providing him and followers refuge in the country, was asked during an online news conference about visiting Taiwan, to which he replied by saying that he prefers to stay in India.

According to the Reuters news agency, the Dalai Lama also said that he has no particular plans to meet China's president Xi Jinping.

Notably, China claims the democratic island of Taiwan as its own territory and says it should be taken by force if necessary. Taiwan resists, saying it is an independent country and will defend its freedoms and democracy in the face of China's aggression. Beijing seems to have aggravated its hostile policies in recent days, with a record number of Chinese military aircraft repeatedly flying over Taiwan's air defence identification zone. Taiwan's radars spotted as many as 150 Chinese air force aircraft entering its air defence zone early last month, part of a pattern of what Taipei calls Beijing's continued harassment of the island.

The Dalai Lama, a supremely important figure in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, has been living a life of a refugee in India ever since he had to flee Tibet in the wake of a revolt in 1959. He advocates for the welfare of Tibetans while continuing to call for diplomatic approaches to negotiations with China for the autonomy of Tibet and the protection of Tibetan culture, including the religious rights of Tibetans.

(With inputs from agencies)