Red faces over Pranab’s China war remark

‘‘We cannot keep our eyes shut,’’ he said, referring to the imbalance in arms procurement in the region. And then went on to add that the Chinese government has resolved its border disputes with 10 countries, except India and Bhutan.

So when it was question hour time, the Consul General of China in Mumbai, Song Deheng, was on his feet. ‘‘I cannot agree with the words China invaded India. As a Defence minister, you must know the background of the war. You also mentioned border disputes. I don’t know what you mean by mentioning this issue in your speech,’’ Deheng said.

He then went on to say that while he did not know how China was perceived on these matters, ‘‘India is not an easy negotiator in these issues’’.

Somewhat taken aback, Mukherjee explained to the Consul General that he had not understood the China reference in his speech in the right perspective. India, he said, ‘‘greatly values its friendship with China’’ but there was divergence of opinion on issues concerning Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

‘‘During the Chinese Prime Minister’s recent visit, we could solve the issue over certain districts in Sikkim through discussion and dialogue.’’ ‘‘What happened in 1962 is factual… prior to the 1962 war, we had only four ordnance factories, after the war we had 32.’’

But Deheng told reporters later that ‘‘the war was in self-defence’’ and he would not agree with words like ‘‘invasion and aggression’’.