英语原文

UK foreign minister's lack of diplomacy raises hackles in India

David Miliband, the UK foreign minister, was at the centre of a diplomatic storm yesterday amid claims he affronted his hosts during last week's trip to India.

Mr Miliband's comments on Kashmir and his allegedly “condescending” attitude towards Indian ministers contributed to one of the most fraught UK diplomatic visits since India's 1947 independence from British rule.

A senior Indian official yesterday initially confirmed a local newspaper report Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, had written to Gordon Brown, his UK counterpart, to protest about Mr Miliband's behaviour.

But yesterday afternoon, the official said no such letter existed. In London, Downing Street said Mr Brown had not received a formal complaint. The Indian official left little doubt about New Delhi's anger at Mr Miliband. “He did not come across as the foreign minister of a friendly nation,” he told the Financial Times. He criticised Mr Miliband's “attention span” and “loud focus” on sensitive issues.

New Delhi was irked by 43-year-old Mr Miliband's de-meanour. In a society deferential toward elders, the UK minister repeatedly addressed Pranab Mukherjee, India's septuagenarian foreign minister, by his first name while Mr Mukherjee scrupulously addressed his younger counterpart as ‘Your Excellency', or ‘Mr Miliband'.

“He was totally tactless,” said Arundhati Ghose, India's former ambassador to the United Nations. “It was so familiar that it is almost condescending.”

With India reeling from November's terror attacks on Mumbai, Mr Miliband upset India's Congress party government with comments on regional terrorism and his demeanour towards Indian cabinet ministers. He raised hackles in an article saying India's conflict with Pakistan over the Muslim-majority Kashmir was aiding Islamist terror group recruitment.

中文翻译

英国外交大臣戴维·米利班德(David Miliband)昨日卷入一场外交风暴。有消息称，他在上周访问印度期间冒犯了东道主。

米利班德有关克什米尔(Kashmir)的评论，以及他被指对印度部长级官员表现出的“居高临下”态度，都在一定程度上造成了自1947年印度摆脱英国统治独立以来最糟糕的英国外交出访之一。

昨日，印度一名高级官员最初确认了当地一份报纸的报道，称印度总理曼莫汉·辛格(Manmohan Singh)已致函英国首相戈登·布朗(Gordon Brown)，对米利班德的行为提出抗议。

但到了昨日下午，这名官员改口称不存在这样的信函。在伦敦，唐宁街方面表示，布朗并未收到正式投诉。上述印度官员明确表示，印方对米利班德极为不满。“他看上去不像是来自友好国家的外交部长，”这名官员告诉英国《金融时报》。他批评了米利班德的“注意力持续时间”和在敏感问题上“吵吵嚷嚷的关注”。

米利班德的举止令印方生厌。在一个敬重长者的社会，这位现年43岁的英国外相一再称呼70多岁的印度外交部长普拉纳博·穆克吉(Pranab Mukherjee)为“普拉纳博”，而穆克吉倒是认真地称呼比自己年轻的来宾为“阁下”或者“米利班德先生”。

“他根本不懂事，”印度前驻联合国大使阿兰达蒂·戈斯(Arundhati Ghose)说。“这样子太随便了，几乎到了居高临下的地步。”

在印度尚未走出11月孟买恐怖袭击的阴影之际，米利班德有关地区恐怖主义的评论，以及他在印度内阁部长级官员面前的举止，都令印度的国大党政府不满。他在一篇文章中表示，印度与巴基斯坦围绕穆斯林人口占多数的克什米尔的冲突，正在帮助伊斯兰恐怖组织招兵买马，此言激怒了印方。