Nolan Peterson is a nonresident senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Alexander Noyes is a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

China is increasingly meddling in the process of choosing the next Dalai Lama, attempting to handpick a successor for the Tibetan Buddhist leader who turned 90 in July. These machinations are likely to backfire, possibly sparking a renewed popular resistance in Tibet that could lead to large-scale violence. America should act quickly and decisively to push China to respect the long-standing Tibetan traditions of spiritual leadership succession. Doing so will help deter conflict in other potential flash points in the region, including Taiwan.

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