New Delhi, June 1
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, as a part of his six-day visit to China, today paid a visit to the headquarters of the Chinese Lanzhou military region — controlling the country’s largest physical area compared to other military regions.
With the headquarters located at Lanzhou in Gansu Province, the Lanzhou military region borders Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pak-occupied Kashmir and India.
According to a press statement issued here by the Ministry of Defence, Mr Mukherjee was given a warm reception by Gen Li Qianyuan, Commander of the Lanzhou military region. He escorted Mr Mukherjee to his office — a departure from normal protocol — and presented him with a traditional Chinese calligraphic painting done by himself in honour of the guest.
Later, the Indian
delegation was given a detailed briefing on the role and functions of the Lanzhou Military Area Command. This was followed by an interactive session where the members of the Indian delegation and officers of the Lanzhou Military Region discussed issues of mutual interest such as anti-terrorism, disaster management, training of
military personnel, handling internal conflict situations and information warfare.
