Xi Jinping addresses PLA troops deployed along LAC

Beijing, Jan 23: In a significant development, Chinese President Xi Jinping recently held a rare video conversation with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control near Eastern Ladakh. Reportedly, he inspected their combat readiness.

 

According to local state media, the event took place on January 18. The Chinese leader was at the PLA headquarters when he addressed the troops on the border defence situation in Khunjerab under the Xinjiang Military Command.

 

Notably, the Xinjiang military command troops are involved in managing border areas along Eastern Ladakh, which has seen tensions since April 2020 after the PLA carried out multiple transgressions.

 

 

In his address, Xi, who is also general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China and the commander-in-chief of the PLA, spoke about how “in recent years, the area has been constantly changing” and how it had impacted the Chinese army, according to the video shown in the official media.

 

One of the soldiers replied that they were now carrying out "dynamic" and "24-hour" monitoring of the border. Xi then asked about their conditions and whether they were able to "receive fresh vegetables" in the inhospitable terrain.

 

According to the state media, Xi asked the border troops “about their border patrol and management work” and “hailed the soldiers as models of border defence and encouraged them to persist in their efforts and make new contributions.” Eastern Ladakh has been one of the flashpoints of recent India-China tensions that erupted following the violent clash in the Pangong lake area.

 

Besides, 17 rounds of high-level military talks have been held between the two countries and yet no significant breakthrough has been achieved in resolving the border issue. India has repeatedly taken a tough stand, asserting that border instability and trade can’t go hand-in-hand, and has taken various measures to limit India’s reliability on Chinese goods.