"I am very eager since my first and second visit," he said in an interview in India with FTV, referring to his historic first trip to Taiwan in March 1997 and again in 2001, both times triggering strong condemnation from China.

The Dalai Lama had voiced his desire to visit Taiwan in an interview last year with a local newspaper in Dharamshala, the town in northern India where his exiled government has been based since a failed uprising in 1959.

But Taiwan's Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou has said the timing was not right for such a visit amid improving ties between Taipei and Beijing, despite an outcry on the island.

The pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has accused Ma of bowing down to Beijing while some members of his Kuomintang party also urged him to reconsider the issue.

When asked about Ma's remarks, the Dalai Lama replied "I am eager but (the visit) is not finalised ... I do not want to create unnecessary inconvenience."

He said he thought the Chinese government was "very sensitive" about any potential visit by him to the island.

In the interview the 73-year-old also shrugged off concerns over his health after he underwent a surgery to remove gallstones last year, claiming that his doctors told him he had the health of someone ten years younger.

The Dalai Lama is reviled by the Chinese government, which has branded him a "monster" and has accused him of trying to split the nation.

Ties between Taipei and Beijing have improved dramatically since Ma took office last May pledging to boost cross-Strait trade and tourism links, following eight years of strained relations under the Democratic Progressive Party.

Officially, Beijing considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, despite their split in 1949 after a civil war.

earlier related report
EU seeks May date for summit with China: diplomats
The European Union is seeking a summit with China in May, after last year's meeting was postponed due to a row over Tibet, European diplomats told AFP on Wednesday.

The Czech Republic, current holders of the EU presidency, have proposed the May meeting in their capital of Prague but have yet to receive agreement from the Chinese side, the Czech embassy said in a statement released to AFP.

"During the (January) visit of Premier Wen Jiabao to Brussels... they agreed the postponed summit would be held under the Czech presidency in Prague, most likely in May," said the statement by the Czech ambassador to China, Vitezslav Grepl.

The summit was originally set for early December but China postponed it in protest at a meeting between Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Poland.

France held the rotating presidency of the 27-nation bloc at the time.

China strongly opposes any contact between foreign officials and the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of seeking independence for his Himalayan homeland.

EU ambassador to China, Serge Abou, told AFP on Tuesday the exact dates of the summit were still being worked on.

"As far as I know there is still no agreement on the dates. The Czechs have proposed something, but the Chinese have still not given an answer," he said.

"The dates of the summit are up to the holder of the EU presidency. As far as I know the dates are still not confirmed by all sides."

China's foreign ministry had no comment on the summit, when contacted by AFP.

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