The barbed wire outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi. (Ramakant Kushwaha)

New Delhi, March 30: India has built a Great Wall of China outside Beijing’s embassy in the diplomatic enclave of New Delhi.

The move follows a request repeated by China to protect the Olympic torch relay when it reaches India on April 17. A concertina coil was rolled out around China’s embassy here this morning in a new round of defences to keep Tibetan protesters at bay.

China wants India to insulate the Olympic torch relay from possible Tibetan protests. Last week, China had threatened to take the Olympic torch relay away from Delhi.

Khaki-clad guards of Delhi police and the CRPF ringed the Chinese mission on Chanakyapuri’s Kautilya Marg as Tibetan protests unfolded a few kilometres away at Jantar Mantar and across the border in Kathmandu.

The coil of steel wires kissing the pavement was the most visible sign of national security adviser M.K. Narayanan’s commitment to China that the Olympic flame would pass through unhindered. India is striving in public to smooth China’s ruffled feathers after Tibetan protesters scaled the embassy walls on March 21, prompting Beijing to summon the Indian ambassador post-midnight. Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan had also met home minister Shivraj Patil two days ago.

Today, soon after Greece handed over the Olympic flame to China, Beijing’s top foreign ministry official, Dai Bingguo, telephoned Narayanan. “The Indian side does not allow Tibetan people to be engaged in political activities that are against the Chinese government,” a Chinese foreign ministry statement quoted Narayanan as saying.

The police station in the high-security Chanakyapuri has been entrusted with the task of keeping the Chinese embassy secure. “The officer-in-charge is doing rounds of the Chinese embassy. For the last few days, this has been the prime duty — to ward off the Tibbatees (Tibetans),” said an assistant sub-inspector.

Behind the barbed wire are nylon nets and baton-wielding policemen to prevent any intrusion.

Tibetan protesters, usually skilful in scaling high altitudes, did not attempt another breach today. But they lit a torch near Jantar Mantar for what they said would be a parallel Olympics in Dharamsala.

This is the second time in two years that the Chinese embassy has become protesters’ target. Angry students from Arunachal Pradesh had marched to the embassy after Chinese envoy Sun Yuxi had stated that not only Tawang but the entire state belonged to China.