By RUTH YOUNGBLOOD

BEIJING, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A senior Tibetan official in exile charged Saturday China's worsening crackdown on monasteries and religious practices has engulfed the beleaguered Himalayan region "in a continuous state of turmoil."

With U.S. President Bill Clinton set to meet in Manila with leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, Tempa Tsering stressed the escalation of tension in Tibet and the drive to wipe out the dalai lama's influence constitutes a relentless war against a 2,000-year-old spiritual heritage.

"China is playing with fire," said Tsering, secretary of the Department of Information and International Relations in northern India where the head of Tibetan Buddhism fled after an unsuccessful 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.

Also drawing attention to deteriorating conditions in Tibet was the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch/Asia, which directed its criticism at the Clinton administration.

"In his eagerness to tout the strengthening of the U.S.-China relationship as the major foreign policy achievement of his second term, Clinton seems to be on the verge of selling out on human rights," said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington director of the organization.

With Clinton and other APEC leaders preparing to hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Jendrzejczyk rejected claims from Western officials that trade relations cannot be held hostage to rights concerns.

"If China plays by the international rules on human rights, it will be more likely to play by the rules in security and trade areas," said Jendrzejczyk in Manila.

The appeal coincided with mounting Communist Party vows to eradicate the dalai lama's influence from every level of Tibetan society, including the suppression of some religious festivals and shrines.

Last week Chen Kuiyuan, the party chief of Tibet, denounced the excessive number of shrines in the region as well as the increasing ranks of monks and nuns "which surpass the number of high school students."

"China's misrule has contributed to engulfing Tibet in a continuous state of turmoil," Tsering said. "Constant tampering with the religious sentiments of the Tibetan people will backfire," he warned.

With Beijing continually accusing the dalai lama of attempting to split China, Tsering said the heightened repression is "striking at the root of the cultural and spiritual identity of the Tibetan people."

He noted the crackdown is also prompting a wave of Tibetan refugees to flee across the Nepal border, including 105 so far this month.

The Tibetan party's central committee has called on every school "to push socialist teachings and focus on political and ideological education." It also has demanded strengthening controls over daily life, including close supervision of literature and the arts.

The dalai lama's recent globetrotting has particularly infuriated China's leaders who regard the trips as part of a conspiracy to undermine Beijing's rule.

The dalai lama maintains he is seeking international pressure to force Beijing to open negotiations on autonomy, not independence.

All nations recognize Tibet as part of China, which has been accused of widespread abuses since its troops entered the region in 1950.

"Though China might be physically ruled by Beijing, it is the dalai lama who rules Tibet by his spiritual standing and increasing moral authority," said Tsering.