Sitharaman teaches 'namaste' to PLA soldiers

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'.

A short video of her interaction with the Chinese soldiers on Saturday was posted on Sunday by the defence minister's official Twitter handle.

"Do you know what namaste means," Sitharaman asked one of the personnel who appeared confused and said namaste while trying to explain the meaning. One of the soldiers, with a smile on his face, said "namaste means nice to meet you." Then she asked "What would you say in Chinese?" “Ni hao”, he said. the Chinese soldiers, triggering laughter on both sides.

Earlier, one of the Chinese soldiers was seen introducing his commander to Sitharaman.

The video has gone viral on the social media. Yesterday, Sitharaman had posted a photo of her waving at the Chinese troops.

"Acknowledged a row of Chinese soldiers from across the fence who were taking pictures on my reaching Nathu La," she had tweeted.

The defence minister visited various forward areas along the India-China border yesterday in Sikkim including Nathu La, which is around 30 km from the Dokalam, the site of 73-day- long standoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers.

Her visit came amid reports that China has strengthened its military presence at the Dokalam Plateau and even started widening an existing road which is at a distance of around 12 km from the area of the conflict.