Initial insensitivity, frenzied damage control

The spat involving Canada's visa policy and India's national honour has been resolved much to New Delhi's satisfaction. The Intelligence Bureau functionary who is part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's advance party for the forthcoming visit to Toronto has been belatedly granted a visa; the Canadian Government has issued what Toronto's Globe and Mail called a "grovelling apology"; and it has been clarified that Canada has the "highest regard for Indian institutions and processes", not to mention the Indian military and security services.
Just as the initial insensitivity of the provincial Government in Victoria after a rash of attacks on Indians was fast replaced by some frenzied damage control by the Australian federal Government, Canada has acted quickly after New Delhi made it clear that it was considering collateral retaliation. The BJP may have thought that the pig-headedness of Canada's immigration authorities was evidence of the weakness of India's foreign policy. Actually, the prompt remedial action by Ottawa suggests that India has become too important a global player for countries to be insensitive to its national pride. This is a far cry from the situation just a couple of decades ago when an Indian passport was not a great facilitator of smooth travel.

Please explain to me the emboldened parts.
I know the meaning of the individual word in the highlighted parts but cannot understand them together in regard to the context.

Source : http://www.dailypioneer.com/259248/Let-India-bare-fangs-to-preachy-moralists.html