Rijiju interacts with Chinese soldiers near Tawang

Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said he interacted with soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) along the Sino-Indian border near Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, during a visit to an Indian Army post on Diwali.

Rijiju also said he celebrated Diwali with the Army jawans at Bumla in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday.

In a short video posted on X, the Union minister for parliamentary and minority affairs was seen speaking to three PLA soldiers through an interpreter, asking them how they were managing while being posted in such a high-altitude area, located 15,000 feet above sea level.

The PLA soldiers replied that they had no problems while serving in such areas and they were comfortable.

Rijiju also praised the kind of infrastructure built and other development works being carried out by the government along the international border. "After speaking to Chinese soldiers and seeing the infrastructures, everyone will feel proud of India's border development now," Rijiju said.

The Union minister, who himself comes from Arunachal Pradesh, also interacted and spent time with Indian Army jawans and celebrated Diwali with them. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been celebrating every Diwali with jawans since 2014 and he (Rijiju) has also been doing the same since then.

"Since you are far away from home during Diwali, we have also decided to be away from home and spend time with you," Rijiju said. He also cut a cake and shared it with the jawans, most of whom were from Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Rijiju's interaction with the PLA soldiers came about 10 days after foreign secretary Vikram Misri said that an agreement was finalised between India and China to a resolution of the issues that arose in 2020.

The agreement was firmed up on patrolling and disengagement of troops along the LAC (line of actual control) in eastern Ladakh, a breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.

According to Army sources, Indian Army began patrolling at Demchok on Friday, days after Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement at the two friction points in eastern Ladakh.

The move marks a significant development in the pursuit of reduced tension along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. Ties between the two Asian giants had nosedived following the clash.