Xi Jinping appoints new general for PLA’s Western Theatre Command amid Ladakh standoff
Amid Ladakh military standoff, China has appointed a new General as the Commander of the PLA's Western Theatre Command which oversees the China-India border.
- World News
- 3 min read
Amidst the military standoff in eastern Ladakh, China has appointed a new General as the Commander of the People's Liberation Army's Western Theatre Command which oversees the China-India border.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high-command of the two million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA), appointed Gen. Zhang Xudong as the Commander of the Western Theatre Command, according to the official media in Beijing.
Chinese President promotes four officers
According to Xinhua news agency, Xi has promoted four senior Chinese military and armed police officers. Among them was Gen. Zhang, Commander of the Western Theatre Command of the PLA. The other officers who were promoted include Guo Puxiao, Political Commissar of the Logistic Support Department of the CMC; Li Wei, Political Commissar of the PLA Strategic Support Force and Wang Chunning, Commander.
The new appointments at the top of the PLA Western Command come in the midst of the standoff between the Chinese and Indian military in eastern Ladakh since May. Not much is known about Gen. Zhang, especially his association with Western Theatre Command, as he reportedly served mostly in other theatre commands of the PLA, PTI reported.
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He succeeds 65-year-old Gen. Zhao Zongqi who headed the Western Theatre Command during the 2017 Doklam standoff where the Indian Army stood up against the PLA's plan of laying a road close to the Indian border in an area claimed by Bhutan. The Ladakh standoff also happened under the watch of Gen Zhao. It began in May after China dispatched thousands of troops which were mobilised for military exercises to eastern Ladakh borders, sparking a new round of tensions with India.
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MEA statement on Ladakh standoff
India and China on Friday agreed to continue work towards ensuring complete disengagement of troops in all friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh at the "earliest" as the two sides held a fresh round of diplomatic talks on the over seven-month-long border standoff.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it was also agreed at the talks that the next round of military dialogue should be held at an early date so that both sides can work towards an early and complete disengagement of troops in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols. However, there was no indication of any breakthrough in the standoff at the virtual talks held under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs.
(With agency inputs)