Jumping the diplomatic gun

As with all the public events during his three-day visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered his keynote speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs event in Chinese. The audience got to hear a translation and dutifully clapped when they heard references to Tagore and other works of ancient Chinese travellers. But it was the slight delay between delivery and translation that created discomfiture within the serried ranks of current and retired diplomats and their spouses. When they heard the translator quote Xi saying China is keen to support India's permanent seat to the UN Security Council, they burst into eager applause. If only they had waited for the next sentence which had Xi's caveat - that this would happen only when India resolves the border dispute with China. The visible embarrassment of the audience when they heard this was almost comical even as Xi maintained his usual grin.