Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with military officers of the People’s Liberation Army in Beijing. File photo | Photo Credit: AP
Chinese President Xi Jinping had a rare conversation with the evening of January 18 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers stationed along India-China border via video link, state media in Beijing reported on 19 January.
A report said Mr Xi addressed troops at a border defense station in Khunjerab under the Xinjiang Military Command from the PLA headquarters in the capital and “inspected their combat preparedness”. The Xinjiang Border Command was the only PLA army command that Mr. Xi was shown speaking. He also addressed a Chinese navy formation and an air force aviation brigade and “ordered them to be alert and ready for battle.”
Explained | Tension on the India-China border
Troops from the Xinjiang Military Command are among the troops involved in managing border areas along eastern Ladakh in the western sector of the India-China border, where tensions have been witnessed since April 2020 following several transgressions by the PLA.
Of the seven areas in the western sector that have seen tension, two friction areas are yet to complete disengagement, while thousands of troops from both sides are deployed in forward areas.
In his remarks to the troops, Mr. Xi pointed out how “in recent years, the region is constantly changing” and asked how this has affected the Chinese military. One of the soldiers replied that they were now monitoring the border “dynamically” and “24 hours a day”. Mr Xi then asked about their conditions and whether they were able to “get fresh vegetables” in the remote area.
State media reported that Mr. Xi had asked the border troops “about their border patrolling and management work” and “honored the troops as models of border defense and urged them to persevere in their efforts and make new contributions.” encouraged for.”
In July last year, Mr Xi held a rare meeting with top officials of the Xinjiang Military District when he visited the regional capital Urumqi.
India and China last month agreed to keep communication channels open and maintain peace in border areas as they held the 17th round of talks between military commanders to reach an understanding on disengagement from Depsang and the remaining two friction points. There has been slow progress. Demchok.