Army To Learn Chinese Language In Assam

New Delhi: Indian Army personnel will learn Chinese at Tezpur University in Assam, where an MoU was signed on Wednesday, news agency IANS quoted defence sources as saying. "A course in the Chinese language will improve in-house Mandarin expertise and empower army personnel to engage with their Chinese counterparts as needed," news agency IANS quoted Lt. Col. Mahendra Rawat as saying. He stated that with improved Chinese language skills, the armymen will be able to communicate their points much more effectively.

"It will also help in better exchange of viewpoints and understanding of the Chinese People Liberation Army`s (PLA) version of their activities during various interactions, including commander-level talks, flag meetings, joint exercises and border personnel meetings," IANS quoted Rawat as saying.

Rawat said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and Tezpur University on Wednesday for training the Indian Army personnel in Chinese language. The course will be for a duration of 16 weeks.

Tezpur University was established in 1994 by an act of Parliament as a central university. It is one the pioneers in the northeastern region in teaching foreign languages, including Chinese.

The troops of the Indian and Chinese armies clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector on December 9, 2023.

The Army did not mention the number of troops involved in the face-off and those injured in the incident. However, several media reports had claimed that there were more than 200 Chinese soldiers involved and they were carrying spiked clubs and sticks, and injuries on the Chinese side could be higher.

In a statement in Parliament, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Indian Army bravely stopped the Chinese People`s Liberation Army (PLA) troops from encroaching on Indian territory, and forced them to withdraw to their posts. 

The Tawang scuffle was the first since deadly clashes in June 2020 when Indian and Chinese troops were involved in hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh, abutting the Chinese-held Tibetan plateau. 

The relations between India and China have nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two nations in decades.