Chinese envoy: 'Nothing is happening'

China's ambassador Zhang Yan on Tuesday met Union Home Secretary GK Pillai in New Delhi, in the wake of various reports about Chinese troops violating the Line of Actual Control and transgressing into Indian territory in the northeast and in Ladakh.

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has downplayed these reports, China has made its displeasure clear at the way such reports have been highlighted in the Indian media.

Yan discussed the issue of visas with Pillai but claimed that the border issue did not come up during their meeting. He also advised Indian journalists, "Nothing is happening, you listen to your leaders."

Dr Singh's media advisor Harish Khare told rediff.com that while there was no ban on writing stories about Indo-China ties, "You should not manufacture stories as was done by one newspaper."

Khare added that while the Indian government believed in freedom of the press, the media should not misuse that freedom to create stories that may lead "to a war-like situation between India and China or between India and Pakistan".

"We must not sensationalise stories," he added.

Image: A file photo of Chinese President Hu Jintao with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh | Photograph: Reuters