The Dalai Lama has announced that he will have a successor after his death, continuing a centuries-old tradition that has become a flashpoint in the struggle with China’s Communist Party over Tibet’s future.

The Dalai Lama has previously said that he would discuss the future religious leadership of the Tibetan Buddhists on his 90th birthday, which falls on July 6. China, India, and the United States will be watching.

The Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, has often called himself a simple monk, but for more than 60 years armed with little more than charm and conviction, he has managed to keep the cause of his people in the international spotlight.