Andreas Gebert/European Pressphoto Agency

HONG KONG — The former Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain, told one of China’s most senior diplomats on Saturday that “the Arab Spring is coming to China,” pointing to the wave of Tibetans setting themselves on fire in China.

With the news Sunday of three more Tibetan self-immolations, at least 18 ethnic Tibetans — many of them current or former Buddhist clergy members — have set themselves alight in the past year to protest Beijing’s harsh stance against the Dalai Lama and the apparent suppression of Tibetan religious and cultural practices.

All the self-immolations have occurred in Tibet and the western Chinese province of Sichuan.

Three Tibetans in Sichuan burned themselves on Friday, according to news reports on Sunday.

Zhang Zhijun, the Chinese vice foreign minister, was on a panel with Senator McCain at a security conference in Munich, and Mr. Zhang termed the notion of an Arab Spring-style uprising in China as “no more than fantasy.”

“It is a matter of concern when Tibetans are burning themselves to death because of the continued repression of the Tibetan people in your country,” Senator McCain told Mr. Zhang during the panel, reiterating his belief that “the Arab Spring is coming to China as well.”

A street vendor in Tunisia, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in December 2010, and his death was the catalyst for nationwide riots and protests. Similar rebellions followed in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Yemen.

‘Arab Spring is coming to China’ – Sen. McCain to Chinese Vice FM. The Senator is a good personal and Tibet’s friend. vancouversun.com/news/Arab+Spri… — Lobsang Sangay (@Drlobsangsangay) February 5, 2012

Tibetan exiles and advocates have long cited repressions of Tibetan religion and culture for increasing tensions in the region, and security forces have maintained a larger presence in recent months.

“The blame lies with the Chinese government and its very hardline, insensitive policies,’’ Lobsang Sangay, the Dalai Lama’s political successor, told Rendezvous recently by telephone from Dharamsala, India. “Tibetans are really desperate now.”

Mr. Sangay, 43, a former legal scholar at Harvard, was elected last year to take over the Dalai Lama’s political duties in Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile. His official title is kalon tripa, or prime minister.

He said Chinese authorities pressed ethnic Tibetans to celebrate the Lunar New Year last week, an affront to many Tibetans who prefer their own New Year, which starts on Feb. 22. He also said that Chinese officials have banned the Dalai Lama’s photograph from being displayed in Buddhist temples and monasteries, and monks and nuns have been pressured to denounce the revered spiritual leader.

Beijing has branded the attempted suicides as terrorism, conducted by young and impressionable Tibetans who are recruited and encouraged by outside agitators.

The Dalai Lama and Mr. Sangay have spoken against the self-immolations.

“Some people suggest the Arab Spring will come to China, but that is more than a fantasy because the policies and governance of the country have the overwhelming support of the people,” Mr. Zhang said at the Munich conference, as quoted by Reuters.

“In China, a country that was subjected to foreign invasion and occupation for 109 years, the Chinese people are resentful of any kind of lecturing on how China should manage its own affairs.”