Tibet was not recognized (by China or any other country) as an independent country. It was de facto independent because of the collapse of the Chinese central

Tibet was not recognized (by China or any other country) as an independent country. It was de facto independent because of the collapse of the Chinese central government during the 1911 revolution. But most of China was under the control of local warlords at that time. Both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China viewed Tibet as just one of many provinces that were temporarily beyond the central government's control.