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Indiscreet

Pranab Mukherjee was blatantly indiscreet when he said at a seminar in Mumbai that China invaded Arunachal Pradesh in 1962. Chinese Consul-General Song De Heng rightly refuted Mr. Mukherjee's remarks, which were anyway not based on facts. Invasion is carried out with the objective of conquering and occupying territory, which China never did. It merely wanted to prove a point about India's claim on Arunchal Pradesh, which according to it was illegal.

Having done that, the Chinese troops unilaterally withdrew after advancing up to the foothills on the outskirts of Tezpur. One cannot but admire the diplomacy of Chinese Ambassador Sun Yuxi, who defused the tension in one stroke by asserting that we are friends and that it is not fashionable to talk about the past.

Col. (retd.) C.V. Venugopalan,
Palakkad, Kerala

Putting its past behind, India should seize the opportunity to strengthen its ties with China. The flexibility Beijing has shown in keeping its ideology aside for development has demonstrated that for the Chinese, nation comes first.

Ashutosh D. Tatwawadi,
Yavatmal, Maharashtra

It was nice to hear the Chinese Ambassador say that talk about the past is out of fashion. But one wonders why the Chinese never tire of raking up World War II issues with Japan. Mr. Sun will do well to remind his Government of his principle when the Japanese come visiting next time.

Shalivahan Sharangpani,
Boston, Massachusetts

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