'Chill out,' Dalai Lama tells US and China

The Dalai Lama has told the US and China to 'cool down' and resolve the stand-off over last week's spy plane crash.

The Buddhist master who is on a visit to Taiwan, said the collision between the US spy plane and a Chinese jet fighter over the South China Sea might have been caused by chauvinism and overconfidence.

He said, however, that he has not had time to follow the news of the incident while visiting Taiwan during the past week.

Avoiding taking sides in the dispute, the Tibetan spiritual leader, who has won a Nobel Peace Prize, said: "Big nations like the United States and China, both sides make small mistakes."

He has been busy giving lectures on Buddhism and meeting political leaders. He plans to leave on Monday.

"My suggestion, as a Buddhist monk, is that even these big nations should have mindfulness," he said, referring to the Buddhist concept of having compassion for others.

In such a stand-off, the Dalai Lama said both sides should avoid becoming the tendency to become "more serious".

China used its military to crush a Tibetan uprising in 1959. The Dalai Lama fled his Himalayan homeland at that time and has not returned.