Days after a reports of Indian and Chinese armies being redeployed at Doklam, India’s Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited the India-China border at Nathu-la in Sikkim. What seems to be a key highlight of her trip, a video (above) of her interacting with Chinese soldiers, was posted on the official Twitter account of the Defence Minister.
The video shows Sitharaman at the border, going up to soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during a flag meeting ceremony. While a Chinese officer introduced his colleagues to her, she joined her palms and greeted the soldiers with a “Namaste”. On sensing their confusion, she asked the Chinese soldiers if they knew the meaning of the word, quietening Indian troops who tried to prompt them.
The Chinese officer seemed to have made an educated guess – “Nice to meet you” – to which Sitharaman asked what they would say in his language. “Ni hao” he told her, leading to a terse but polite exchange of “Namaste”s and “Ni hao”s from both side. Sitharaman even cracked a joke, which attracted laughter from both sides.
Not that Doklam is a laughing matter.
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