When India conducted the nuclear tests, it was Defence Minister George Fernandes who went ballistic against China. He cited that China was the India’s enemy number one and reason for the nuclear tests. But now after six years, he seems to have changed his mind and even started some introspection.
Former Defence Minister George Fernandes, known for his strong views against China, on Wednesday surprised audience, mostly Tibetans, by lavishing praise on the communist nation for its progress and saying India should take Beijing’s professions of friendship “sincerely”.
“China is growing rapidly as a power while we are lagging behind more than we should. Its economy today is three times the size of our own, and all this is their own work,” he said at a seminar on China’s under-construction railway line to Lhasa.
“The entire nation has accepted the task of becoming the biggest economic power in the world,” he said praising the Chinese people for their “discipline”. [George Fernandes heaps praise on China]
He had retracted from the enemy number one statement long time back with the clarification – “I never said China is enemy number one. But I did say that in my perception of national security, China is enemy number one.” (Maybe he was John Kerry’s inspiration for the Iraq vote statement). He also blamed the intelligence agencies for feeding him all the wrong information.
We have to apologize to the Pakistanis and give them back their title of enemy number one.
