Army looks to recruit those proficient in Mandarin
NEW DELHI: The Indian Army wants to recruit personnel fluent in Mandarin as it seeks to engage more efficiently with the People’s Liberation Army and expand surveillance along the Line of Actual Control, according to a notification issued on Sunday.
The army was recently given approval to induct candidates with expertise in Mandarin in the Territorial Army.
It has also taken measures to impart Chinese language training to army personnel and prepare them to engage with the Chinese military. The northern, central and eastern commands are conducting Mandarin language courses. Artificial intelligence is also being used to translate several literature and scripts from Mandarin.
There has been a lingering stand-off between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh for the past few years. “With improved Mandarin skills, Indian Army personnel will be better empowered to convey their points in a much more cogent manner,” an official told news agency PTI.
“With a recalibration of it strategic outlook towards the northern borders, the Indian Army has upscaled its Chinese language training and synergistically enmeshed appropriate scaling of Chinese linguists within its overall strategy,” another official said.
The army has recently signed memorandums of understanding with the Central University of Gujarat, the Rashtriya Raksha University and the Shiv Nadar University to train personnel in Mandarin.
There is a requirement of an increasing number of Mandarin experts for better exchange of viewpoints and understanding Chinese military’s version of activities during talks between corps commanders, joint exercises, flag meetings and border personnel meetings.