India and China to hold joint Army exercises

In a significant move, India and China have decided to hold first ever Joint Army exercises aimed at developing bilateral military to military level confidence building measures.

The decision to hold joint exercises comes as a follow up of two countries claiming 'substantial and satisfactory' progress in discussions on joint services issue during the just concluded visit to China by a high level tri-service delegation led by Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee General JJ Singh.

'The dates, details and scope of the first ever joint manoeuvres between the two armies is being worked out', an army release said.

Though an army spokesman did not not spell out the nature of joint manoeuvres, Singh, before his departure for Beijing, had told PTI that the People Liberation Army was interested in conducting anti-terrorism manoeuvres.

The Indian Army, which has been in the thick of battling insurgencies in the country's north-east and in Jammu and Kashmir, has won international acclaim for its low intensity warfare techniques.

Military officers and personnel from US and UK have also held such joint exercises with Indian forces.

China, on the other hand, has never acknowledged facing any armed internal dissent, but reports do often crop of a simmering insurgency in its muslim dominated areas of Xinjian and Chinese Turkestan provices.

'The two armies have set in motion the modalities for conducting of joint military training exercises between them', the release said.

Though Indian and Chinese armies have held regular border bonhomie meetings and sporting activities, it would be the first time the two armies which have almost been in 'eyeball to eyeball' confrontation all along the nearly 4,000 kms long Himalayan frontier for over four decades would be holding such joint manouvres.

On the visit, the army spokesman said 'the interactions with their Chinese counterparts were very fruitful in upgrading military cooperations and also a step forward in the overall development of a strategic partnership'.

In the course of his tour, Singh met top leaders of China's key powerful Central Military Commission, Vice President Zeng Quinghong and the newly appointed Foreign Minister Yang Jiechie.

The Indian delegation, which also comprised high level officers from the tri-services toured PLA formations and bases including the 15 airborne corp at Wuhan, 28 air division at Hangzhou and a Naval base at Shanghai.