Amid Reports Of Military Stand-Off, Chinese Embassy Cancels Cultural Publicity Week

13 September, New Delhi

The Chinese Embassy today cancelled its scheduled cultural publicity week which was to begin from tomorrow with a media get-together, a day after the reported tense situation along the disputed border in Burtse region in Ladakh.

“Learn China, starting from Shaanxi” programme was to be held tomorrow in posh hotel here.

Information of cancellation of the programme was given by ZHOU Yijun, the press officer attached to the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi.

“The Learn China, starting from Shaanxi on September 14, 2015 (Monday) has been cancelled.Due to some reasons such as flights, delegation cannot arrive New Delhi on time tomorrow,” he said, in an E-mail message, expressing regrets for the inconvenience caused.

During the cultural week, the Embassy had lined up various events, in which “valued people from Indian different fields like culture, industry and commerce, tourism” were invited. The stated aim of the programme was to promote cooperation in the field of News and Culture between two countries.

The cancellation comes close to the reports of Indian and Chinese troops being locked in another stand-off at Burtse in northern Ladakh after India objected to China building a watch tower. As China rejected Indias objections, both sides said to have moved a platoon each of soldiers in a show of strength.

In September last year, troops of both sides were held in a stand-off in the Chumar sector at the same time as Chinese President Xi Jinping was visiting India, which lasted for about a month.

A strategic road India plans to build to Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), passes through Burtse, the same DBO which was the scene of a stand-off in April 2013, where the Chinese troops had dug up camps well inside the Indian territory.