Bangalore: China doesn’t see Dalai Lama as ‘purely a religious figure’ and so the dragon nation hates anyone who offers a platform for his activities, which it calls, are anti-China.

China is believed to have postponed the 15th round of the talks between Special Representatives of both countries over its concerns over a Buddhist conference scheduled to take place on November 28 and November 29 in New Delhi. China is angered at the New Delhi’s refusal to either push back or call off the event. However, President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh skipped the four-day Buddhist meet presumably over the strong opposition from its neighbor.

This has deepened the rift between both the countries who are trying to solve the heated dispute over the South China Sea oil exploration. China, without naming India, had warned that it wouldn't tolerate activities of foreign companies in the disputed waters of South China Sea. The dispute also had come up in the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during the ASEAN summit. China was annoyed by the Oil exploration activities by ONGC Videsh in the waters off Vietnam. The state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) had inked a three-year deal with Vietnamese oil firm, PetroVietnam for oil exploration in the area - blocks 127 and 128 off Spratly Islands – which is a disputed area claimed by many countries including China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, and Brunei.

Reflecting the Chinese anger on the Indian move, the state-run Xinhua news agency wrote, “India is acting out of an inferiority complex." It further read, "By currying favour with China's neighbour, in particular, those who have brewed disputes with China, India would assume, it could instigate these smaller nations to engage in a gang fight against China and contain China's growing clout in the region."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry went to the extent of warning India saying that any such move is an interference in China's relationship with its neighbours. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin had said, "We don't hope to see outside forces involved in the South China Sea dispute, and do not want to see foreign companies engage in activities that will undermine China's sovereignty and rights and interests."

However, India has made its stand quite clear by stating that the oil exploration programs in South China Sea was purely a commercial activity and it will try to solve any disputes according to the international laws and practices. China had a different view of this argument and it was clear from Weimin’s words, “The dispute should be solved between countries directly concerned through friendly consultation and negotiation. Outside intervention or bringing the issue to a multilateral forum will only complicate the issue and will not help resolve it."