PLA commander who triggered Ladakh incursion sacked by Xi; India cautious In New Delhi, the change of guard in the leadership of the Western Theatre Command raised hope that the replacement of General Zhao may not be as aggressively anti-Indian as his predecessor Army's new heated accommodation for bravehearts in forward areas of Ladakh Chinese President Xi Jinping has sacked General Zhao Zongqi, the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) powerful Western Theatre Commander responsible for the ongoing military standoff with India in eastern Ladakh. General Zhang Xudong has been picked as his replacement, a commander who has never served along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).