ITANAGAR: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Friday that he had spoken to Chinese soldiers near the India-China border close to Tawang.
The meeting was during a Diwali visit to an Indian Army post.
In a short video posted on X, the Union Minister for Parliamentary and Minority Affairs is seen speaking to three Chinese soldiers with an interpreter.
He asked the soldiers whether they were coping with the high-altitude conditions at 15,000 feet. The Chinese soldiers responded that they were comfortable and had no issues working in the area.
Going to X, he said, "After talking to Chinese soldiers and seeing the infrastructures, everyone will feel proud of India's border development now."
In interaction with jawans of the Indian Army, the Union Minister, originally from Arunachal Pradesh, had also taken time to share Diwali with jawans. "Jawans were away during festival time, so also others including he were away spending time with them than home.".
The Union Minister met Chinese soldiers a week after India said it had agreed with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, in a development seen as one step forward in resolving the military standoff that lasted over four years. This follows a recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit in Russia.
Indian and Chinese troops have exchanged sweets on the Line of Actual Control at several points to celebrate Diwali. This gesture has come hardly a week after the two sides made an important step forward in relieving tensions by completing disengagement at two contested areas in eastern Ladakh—Demchok and the Depsang Plains.
India-China relations have worsened since April 2020 following the military activity on both sides of the LAC. Tensions ran higher when on June 15, 2020, Indian troops lost 20 men while repelling an incursion by the Chinese at Galwan Valley.
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