By IANS
New Delhi : Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony Monday drove down to the modest residence of Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap in Hanoi to call on the Vietnamese legendary figure who was instrumental in defeating the armies of France, US and China – three of five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Giap was Vietnam’s longest serving defence minister from 1945 to 1979. He crafted the strategy that led to the eviction of the French colonial forces in the 1950s and thereafter played a key role in defeating the invading US forces in the Vietnam War of the 1970s.
Thereafter, he played a key role in beating back a Chinese invasion in the 1980s.
Giap studied at the same school in Hue, in central Vietnam, as late president Ho Chi Minh and late prime minister Pham Van Dong.
Now in his 90s, Giap “appears frail but showed no signs of memory loss as he recounted vividly fond remembrances of his two visits to India when he went to New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands”, a defence ministry release issued here said.
“Giap recalled the contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru and Ho Chi Minh to provide a solid foundation to India-Vietnamese relations. He also recalled the contributions India has made to Vietnam during the war periods, for the unification as also for its reconstruction,” the release added.
“Therefore, I feel like meeting old friends”, he told Antony, who is on a three-day visit to Vietnam.
Giap appreciated the giant strides made by India in science and technology, and especially in the IT sector, and expressed the hope that the “Indian advantage” will also be extended to the people of Vietnam.
He requested Antony to convey his best wishes to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
According to Antony, it was a really “happy and exciting day” for him as during his younger days, he had read about the heroism of Giap, adding the general’s “heroic acts were indeed lessons in warfare”.
Giap presented a copy of his memoir “People’s War, People’s Army” to Antony.