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Ice broken after two years
Breaking the ice after a gap of nearly two years, India and China on Friday agreed to send military level delegations to each other’s country and adhere to confidence building measures to maintain peace and tranquility on the disputed 4,500-km long boundary. A Chinese military delegation would visit India later this month followed by a reciprocal visit by India in January next year.
The two delegations also agreed to resume the joint military exercises named “Hand in Hand” as soon as possible and left it to the respective armed forces to work out the details in near future. India and China so far have conducted two anti-terrorism drills in China and India respectively in 2008 and 2009.
The one-day Defence Secretary-level Annual Dialogue here — the fourth so far between the two sides — was “more on atmospherics and conveying feel good factor,” sources said, adding the deliberations were constructive and positive. The talks were held between Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma and his Chinese counterpart General Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of General Staff, People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The main thrust of the talks was to ‘break the ice’ and improve bilateral defence relations which were strained after China refused visa in July last year to the then Northern Command chief Lt General BS Jaswal as Beijing questioned the status of Jammu and Kashmir.
India reacted strongly and suspended all military-to-military exchanges with China as a mark of protest and also urged Beijing to stop issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
Ties resumed after China stopped issuing stapled visas and a Northern Command delegation visited China earlier this year and a PLA delegation also came here on reciprocal basis. The decision to resume the Defence Secretary level talks was taken four months ago.
Elaborating upon the nearly three-hour talks, Defence Ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said the two sides noted that existing confidence building measures on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were successful in maintaining peace and tranquility on the borders. It was decided that such measures would continue to be implemented.
Both the countries agreed that the provisions of the 2005 Protocol for implementation of confidence building measures on the LAC should be strictly adhered to by both sides, Kar said. The Chinese delegation also called on Defence Minister AK Antony.
The Annual Defence Dialogue between the two neighbours, who have a disputed border for more than 45 years and fought a war in 1962, was established under the MoU for ‘Exchanges and Co-operation in the field of Defence’ signed between the two countries in May 2006.
The two countries have held three such dialogues including the first one in November 2007, second in India in December 2008 and the last one in January 2010 in Beijing.
Breaking the ice after a gap of nearly two years, India and China on Friday agreed to send military level delegations to each other’s country and adhere to confidence building measures to maintain peace and tranquility on the disputed 4,500-km long boundary. A Chinese military delegation would visit India later this month followed by a reciprocal visit by India in January next year.
The two delegations also agreed to resume the joint military exercises named “Hand in Hand” as soon as possible and left it to the respective armed forces to work out the details in near future. India and China so far have conducted two anti-terrorism drills in China and India respectively in 2008 and 2009.
The one-day Defence Secretary-level Annual Dialogue here — the fourth so far between the two sides — was “more on atmospherics and conveying feel good factor,” sources said, adding the deliberations were constructive and positive. The talks were held between Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma and his Chinese counterpart General Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of General Staff, People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The main thrust of the talks was to ‘break the ice’ and improve bilateral defence relations which were strained after China refused visa in July last year to the then Northern Command chief Lt General BS Jaswal as Beijing questioned the status of Jammu and Kashmir.
India reacted strongly and suspended all military-to-military exchanges with China as a mark of protest and also urged Beijing to stop issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
Ties resumed after China stopped issuing stapled visas and a Northern Command delegation visited China earlier this year and a PLA delegation also came here on reciprocal basis. The decision to resume the Defence Secretary level talks was taken four months ago.
Elaborating upon the nearly three-hour talks, Defence Ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said the two sides noted that existing confidence building measures on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) were successful in maintaining peace and tranquility on the borders. It was decided that such measures would continue to be implemented.
Both the countries agreed that the provisions of the 2005 Protocol for implementation of confidence building measures on the LAC should be strictly adhered to by both sides, Kar said. The Chinese delegation also called on Defence Minister AK Antony.
The Annual Defence Dialogue between the two neighbours, who have a disputed border for more than 45 years and fought a war in 1962, was established under the MoU for ‘Exchanges and Co-operation in the field of Defence’ signed between the two countries in May 2006.
The two countries have held three such dialogues including the first one in November 2007, second in India in December 2008 and the last one in January 2010 in Beijing.
