China’s western command chief visits India

General Zhao Zongqi, head of the newly formed Western Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China, has concluded a visit to India, accelerating high-level military exchanges between the two countries. His visit follows last month’s tour of China by the Chief of Army Staff Gen. Dalbir Singh.

According to a PLA-affiliated website, Gen. Zhao was on a three-day visit from December 8. Besides the Army Chief, he met Deputy Chief Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat and Eastern Army Commander Lt. General Praveen Bakshi.

The meeting is significant as Lt. Gen. Bakshi, as the senior-most officer in the Army after Gen. Singh who retires at the month-end, is the frontrunner for the post of Army Chief.

The website points out that the two sides paid special attention to the “cooperation between the PLA Western Theater Command and the Indian military.”

The Western Theater Command is one of the five theater commands that were established in February this year as part of major military reforms undertaken on President Xi Jinping’s watch. Each of this commands is structured to undertake integrated operations along with the air force and the navy.

The Chengdu-based Western Theater Command steers the Tibet Military Command, whose status was elevated earlier this year. In an article published in May,

Global Times , a newspaper affiliated to the Communist Party of China, quoted Song Zhongping, a military expert, as saying the Tibet Military Command bore a great responsibility towards preparing for possible conflicts between China and India. “Military action in the Tibet Military Command requires specialist mountain skills and long-range capabilities, which need the deployment of special military resources,” Mr. Song said. The elevation in the status of the Tibet Military Command would secure better and more effective combat preparedness when required, he said.

The website said that during Gen. Zhao’s stay in India, the two sides agreed to jointly implement the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries and the agreements between the two countries and militaries, promote mutual understanding, enhance pragmatic cooperation, safeguard peace and stability in border areas and try best to make positive contributions towards the healthy and stable development of the relations between the two countries and militaries.