New Delhi: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman had a brief conversation with Chinese soldiers during her maiden visit to the Nathu La border post in Sikkim and was even seen teaching them how to say ‘Namaste’.
The Chinese PLA Captain who was doing the translation introduced himself as someone with royal antecedents to which the minister promptly said: “So we have a king to do the translation” which brought good cheer among the men from both sides.
The defence minister - India’s first full-time woman defence minister-also waved at Chinese soldiers posted across the border at Nathu La and even tweeted a photo where she was seen smiling and waving at, what she said was, “a row of Chinese soldiers from across the fence who were taking pictures (of Sitharaman) reaching Nathu La.”
The defence minister scheduled aerial survey of Doklam and other forward posts along the Indo-Sino border in Sikkim was cancelled due to inclement weather, said sources
“However, she made her aerial survey of Gangtok and surrounding areas from the new Greenfield Pakyong Airport after her return from the Nathu-la Border during the afternoon," said an official.
