Xi Jinping inspects combat readiness of troops along India-China border

By Team Newsable | First Published Jan 20, 2023, 5:40 PM IST

Xi addressed the troops from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) headquarters on the border defence situation in Khunjerab under the Xinjiang Military Command. During the call, he “inspected their combat readiness”, the report said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has held a video conversation with the soldiers stationed along the India-China border in eastern Ladakh and inspected their combat readiness, official media here reported on Friday. From the People's Liberation Army (PLA) headquarters, Xi spoke to the troops on the border defence situation in Khunjerab, which is under the control of the Xinjiang Military Command.

According to the footage broadcast in the official media, Xi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the PLA and general secretary of the country's ruling Communist Party of China, mentioned how the Army had been touched by how "the region has been continually changing" in his speech to the troops.

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He "inspected their battle preparation" during the conversation, according to the report. One of the troops said that "dynamic" and "24-hour" border surveillance was now being done. Xi inquired about their health and their ability to "get fresh veggies" in the hostile environment.

Inquiring about the border guards' "border patrol and management work," Xi, according to the state media, "hailed the soldiers as models of border defence and encouraged them to continue in their efforts and make new contributions." Following a violent altercation near the Pangong lake, a standoff between India and China broke out in Eastern Ladakh on May 5, 2020.

The eastern Ladakh border impasse has been the subject of 17 rounds of high-level military negotiations, but there has been little progress in finding a settlement. According to India, maintaining calm and tranquilly along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is necessary for the bilateral relationship's overall growth with China.

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(With PTI inputs)

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