India plays Nobel ceremony attendance low-key

New Delhi has found itself in a bit of a bind where the Nobel Peace Prize is concerned. While India has decided to attend the ceremony in Oslo for dissident Chinese Liu Xiabo despite a request from Beijing to stay away, it also wants to avoid ruffling feathers as Chinese premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled to visit the country later this month.

"As far as the Nobel ceremony, we do not see it as a bilateral issue," an official source said in Brussels. "India will attend the ceremony as it has been doing in the past."

Prime minister Manmohan Singh arrived in the Belgian capital on Thursday with an Indian delegation for talks with the European Union.

However, India has avoided saying much on the issue to avoid irritating Beijing. Observers say India's discretion shows a remarkable sensitivity to China's concerns, and Beijing is responding with similar circumspection, suggesting that both capitals want next week's visit to be a success.

Wen will be the fourth leader of a UN Security Council permanent member country to visit India this year, after David Cameron, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev is due later this month.

New Delhi and Beijing, which fought a brief war in 1962, are improving relations long soured by geo-political and border tensions. The emphasis now is in building economic ties. But the situation remains delicate, so the last thing either side wants is an unnecessary dispute over the Nobel gala.