Xi Jinping inspects military preparedness of troops deployed along India-China border in eastern Ladakh

• Image Credit: Google

• Jan 20, 2023 | Dhupali Das

The two sides have held 17 sessions of high-level military negotiations on the eastern Ladakh border standoff, but no major advancement has been made...

Digital Desk: Chinese President Xi Jinping held a video conference with soldiers stationed along the India-China border in eastern Ladakh on Friday and reviewed their military readiness, according to official media.

Xi addressed the troops from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) headquarters on the border defence situation in Khunjerab under the Xinjiang Military Command.

According to the footage shown in state media, Xi, who is also the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China and the commander-in-chief of the PLA, noted how "in recent years, the area has been continually changing" and how it had impacted the Army in his statements to the troops.

According to the report, he "inspected their military preparation" during the call.

One of the soldiers said that they were now doing "dynamic" and "24-hour" border monitoring. Xi inquired about their condition and whether they could "get fresh vegetables" amid the harsh environment.

According to official media, Xi inquired about the border forces' "border patrol and management activities" and "hailed the soldiers as models of border defence and encouraged them to persevere in their efforts and make new contributions." Eastern Ladakh is the location of a standoff between India and China on May 5, 2020, following a severe clash in the Pangong lake area.

The two sides have held 17 sessions of high-level military negotiations on the eastern Ladakh border standoff, but no major advancement has been made in resolving the outstanding issues.

India has stated that peace and stability along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are necessary for the overall development of its bilateral relationship with China.