BEIJING, Nov 22 (AFP) - China's latest religious crackdown in Tibet will backfire on the central government in Beijing, the foreign affairs spokesman of the Tibetan government-in-exile warned Friday.

"China is playing with fire," said Tempa Tsering in a faxed statement from the exiled government's seat in Dharamsala, India.

The communist party leadership in Tibet announced this month the launch of a "last battle" against the Dalai Lama, aimed at eradicating any vestiges of the exiled spiritual leader's influence from all sections of Tibetan society.

"With the excuse of uprooting so-called splittism, Beijing's term for Tibetan nationalism, China is forcing the closure of many monasteries and restricting religious practice, thus striking at the root of the cultural and spiritual identity of the Tibetan people," Tsering said.

"China's last battle against Buddhist Tibet and the Dalai Lama bodes ill for both Tibet and China," he added.

The latest crackdown is contributing to the continung flood of refugees fleeing Tibet, Tsering said, pointing to the 105 Tibetans who were caught at the border by Nepalese police this month alone.

The refugees were eventually released after the personal intervention of the Dalai Lama and officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

"A proof of China's anger as shown in the current religious crackdown is fueled by the reality that though Tibet might be physically ruled by Beijing, it is the Dalai Lama who rules Tibet by his spiritual standing and increasing moral authority," Tsering said.

"This issue cannot be solved by stamping out all the physical manifestations of Tibetans' devotion to his holiness," he added.

The Chinese rhetoric surrounding the launch of the latest campaign has been the toughest since the days of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution when religious persecution in Tibet was at its height.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.