bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Kristin Huang

India’s defence minister experienced an unexpected wave of goodwill from Chinese soldiers when she visited troops stationed on the frontier between the countries on Saturday.
Chinese observers described it as a goodwill gesture, while the foreign ministry on Monday said Beijing was willing to maintain peace along its border with India.
Two short videos of Nirmala Sitharaman’s interaction with Chinese troops at the border post in Nathu La were posted on the minister’s official Twitter account on Sunday.
“Do you know what namaste means?” she asks the Chinese soldiers.
“It means nice to meet you,” one of the Chinese troops replies.
Sitharaman then asks, “What would you say in Chinese?”
“We just say nihao,” the Chinese solider replies.
“So I say namaste,” the Indian defence minister says.

Snippet of Smt @nsitharaman interacting with Chinese soldiers at the border at Nathu-la in Sikkim yesterday. Namaste! pic.twitter.com/jmNCNFaGep
— Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) October 8, 2017

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>

Sitharaman was meeting a People’s Liberation Army commander and captain and communicated with the help of an interpreter.
In another video posted on the minister’s Twitter account, she wishes good luck to the Chinese people.
“India and China are both great nations. Good luck to your country,” the Chinese commander replies.
The Chinese soldier doing the translating introduces himself to Sitharaman, saying his family name, Wang, means “king”.
“Very good,” the Indian defence minister replies. “And to have a king [doing] the translation.”
“My English is just so-so ... apologies,” Wang says.
The Nathu La post is the last one along the border between Sikkim on the Indian side and Tibet on the Chinese side.

Sharing another snippet from Smt @nsitharaman 's interaction with Chinese soldiers at the international border at Nathu-la, Sikkim pic.twitter.com/TIRdnhixeL
— Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) October 8, 2017

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>

India’s Economic Times newspaper reported that Sitharaman’s trip on Saturday was the first high-level visit to the area following a protracted stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops at the Doklam plateau that ended on August 28.
China ‘halts road building’ to end India border stand-off
The dispute was about 30km away from where the minister was visiting, in an area claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan, an ally of India, and lasted for 73 days until the two sides agreed to withdraw their troops.
India justified its action by saying China’s construction work on the plateau had posed a security risk to the “Chicken’s Neck” – the narrow corridor connecting the bulk of Indian territories with its northeastern states.




The agreement to end the dispute came just days ahead of a summit of emerging market nations in China, which was attended by both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In talks with Modi on the sidelines of the event, Xi said the two countries should work to put their bilateral ties back on track.
About 1,000 Chinese soldiers reappeared in the area last week, but analysts said they were mainly there for infrastructure construction work.
In Beijing, the foreign ministry called on both sides to safeguard regional peace and stability.
“China is willing to maintain the peace and stability of the border areas with India under the historical framework and related agreements between the two sides,” ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said in a daily news briefing on Monday.
1,000 Chinese soldiers reportedly still in Doklam a month after border stand-off ended
Li Jie, a Beijing-based military expert, said Sitharaman’s visit showed that India wanted to improve its relations with China.
“This is a clear move for India to keep friendly ties with all countries. Although India has border disputes with China, it still needs Beijing’s support and help in other areas. India cannot afford to totally destroy relations with this Asian powerhouse,” Li said.
But Rohan Mukherjee, an Asian affairs expert at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, said the exchange of greetings was just a routine visit.
“The minister was sworn in just over a month ago. It is only natural that she would visit the border region and survey the Doklam and Nathu La areas, which until very recently were a potential flashpoint,” Mukherjee said.

China denies harassing Indian woman born in disputed border region over ‘invalid’ passport

Can China and India turn tactical calm into strategic moderation?

Why India is hedging its bets on another China charm offensive

India and China vie for Global South leadership at UN gatherings

China-India border dispute

I say ‘namaste’, you say ‘nihao’ ... how India’s defence minister helped build bridges in frontline chat with Chinese soldiers

India’s defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman greeted Chinese soldiers with a namaste on the border between the two countries. Photo: Handout

Can China and India regain their footing as brotherly neighbours?

A man walks through a conference room used for meetings between military commanders of China and India, at the Indian side of the Indo-China border at Bumla, in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, in 2009. Photo: AFP

Chinese paramilitary policemen take part in a training match at a training base in Jinzhong, Shanxi province, China September 13, 2017. Picture taken September 13, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA.

epa06197643 A general view of the valley of Taihuai with Great White Tower (C), symbol of Mount Wutai, at Wutaishan, Shanxi province, China, 10 September 2017 (issued 11 September). Mount Wutai or Wutaishan is considered the holiest land of Chinese Buddhism and one of the four famous Buddhist Mountains in China known for its natural scenery, historical and cultural heritage. Having five terraces or peaks Wutaishan, literally means 'Five Plateau Mountain'. It has forty-one temples which have been built on this site from the 1st century AD to the early 20th century. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009. EPA-EFE/ROMAN PILIPEY

1,000 Chinese soldiers reportedly still in Doklam a month after border stand-off ended

An Indian soldier keeps watch at Bumla Pass on the India-China border. According to Indian media reports, about 1,000 Chinese troops are still in the area of a recent border stand-off between the two countries. Photo: AFP

Why India wants to avoid having to choose between China and Japan

India has good reason to seek investment from both China and Japan. Photo: Handout

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi raise hands after the groundbreaking ceremony for a high-speed rail project in Ahmedabad, India, September 14, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Dave

A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces diesel-electric submarine Soryu is seen in this undated handout photo released by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces, and obtained by Reuters on September 1, 2014. Japan and Australia are leaning towards a multibillion-dollar sale by Tokyo of a fleet of stealth submarines to Canberra's military in a move that could rile an increasingly assertive China, people familiar with the talks said. An agreement is still some months away, three people said, but the unprecedented sale of off-the-shelf vessels based on the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force's Soryu class sub is emerging as the likeliest option. REUTERS/Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force/Handout via Reuters (JAPAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY MARITIME) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS

News

China

Diplomacy

Visit to frontier was first by senior government figure since the two sides’ confrontation at Doklam plateau over the summer


China-India relations

China’s military

India

I say ‘namaste’, you say ‘nihao’ ... how India’s defence minister helped build bridges in frontline chat with Chinese soldiers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Visit to frontier was first by senior government figure since the two sides’ confrontation at Doklam plateau over the summer

Visit to frontier was first by senior government figure since the two sides’ confrontation at Doklam plateau over the summer