China / Chinese state media releases video of troop movement amid Indo-China border tensions

Bijing: Aday after military commanders of the India and China met to deliberate on the ongoing standoff in Ladakh, the Chinese Army released a video on Sunday showing thousands of soldiers engaging in an exercise on the Indo-China border.

Posted on the internet by Global Times, a state-run media outlet, the video shows hundreds of soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) along with a PLA Air Force airborne brigade performing military exercises. The troops "took just a few hours to maneuver from Central China's Hubei Province to northwestern, high-altitude region amid China-India border tensions", Global Times said.

Several thousand soldiers with a Chinese PLA Air Force airborne brigade took just a few hours to maneuver from Central China’s Hubei Province to northwestern, high-altitude region amid China-India border tensions. https://t.co/dRuaTAMIt0 pic.twitter.com/CtRJRk13IO

— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) June 7, 2020

"The entire process was completed in just a few hours, demonstrating China's capability of quickly reinforcing border defenses when necessary, experts said on Sunday," Global Times reported. It went further to state, "Several hundred pieces of military equipment including armored vehicles and huge batches of supplies were also involved in the operation, which ended successfully in just a few hours."

The miltary meet on June 6 was held at Molodo on the Chinese side, opposite Chushul. On the Indian side, the delegation was led by 14 Corps Commander Lt General Harinder Singh while it was the commander of the South Xinjiang Military District, Major General Lin Liu who represented the Chinese delegation.

During the meeting, India sought restoration of status quo in Pangong Tso as it was before the military buildup in April of this year. China, on the other hand, reiterated its demand for India to stop any road construction activity in the region.

Following the meet, the Indian delegation returned to Leh and later briefed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the National Security Advisor (NSA) on the minutes of the meeting.

The military buildup on both sides of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the Indo-China border intensified after a physical confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops at the Pangong Tso Lake on May 5.

In response to US President Donald Trump's request to mediate between the two neighbours, India maintained that the issue would be resolved through established diplomatic channels and there is no need for third-party mediation.