GUWAHATI: Indian Army personnel will soon begin learning the Chinese language.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Army and Assam’s Tezpur University on Wednesday for training the personnel in Chinese. It was signed by the 4 Corps on behalf of the Army and the Registrar of Tezpur University in the presence of Vice Chancellor Prof SN Singh.
The 16-week course will be conducted at the Tezpur University.
Tezpur University, a central varsity established in 1994, is one of the pioneers in the Northeast in teaching foreign languages, including Chinese, with highly-qualified faculty.
“This Chinese language course will improve the in-house Mandarin expertise and empower the Army personnel to engage with the Chinese military personnel as and when the situation demands,” a defence statement said.
“With improved Chinese language skills, the Army personnel will be better empowered to convey their points in a much more cogent manner. It will also help in better exchange of viewpoints and understanding of the Chinese PLA’s version of their activities during various interactions such as Commander Level talks, Flag Meetings, Joint Exercises and Border Personnel Meetings etc,” the statement further said.
In 2021, Indian Army personnel began studying Tibetan history, culture and language, apparently to counter Chinese influence.