India, China troops to train jointly

The Indian Express ^ | Updated: Thursday, May 26, 2005 at 1741 hours IST

[Gengis Khan]

New Delhi, May 26: The armies of India and China, which fought a border war four decades ago, plan to hold unprecedented joint counter-terrorism and peacekeeping training programmes, the Indian army chief said on Thursday.

General Joginder Jaswant Singh said the plans had been discussed with visiting Chinese chief of general staff, General Liang Guanglie, who began a six-day tour on Monday.

Military ties between the two Asian giants have vastly improved and their soldiers have gone on joint mountaineering expeditions, played volleyball matches, exchanged gifts and shared meals on the frontier, Singh said.

"The momentum given by the leaders of our two countries is being enhanced further by the two militaries," he told reporters, referring to the upswing in diplomatic ties between the world's two most populous countries.

"On the roadmap of military-to-military cooperation in the future (are) exercises where both countries could carry out together to counter terrorism or on UN missions," he said on the sidelines of a defence technology conference in New Delhi.

Indian army officers visited China to witness military exercises last year and Chinese officers were invited to see manoeuvres by the Indian army and air force this year, he said.

These may be small steps for two of the world's largest defence forces but they indicate the growing warmth between them considering more than 3,200 Indian soldiers were killed in the brief border war in 1962, Indian defence officials said.

During Liang's talks in Delhi, the two sides had agreed that their navies would hold joint exercises off the Indian coast, the second such drill after the two fleets conducted manoeuvres off the Shanghai coast in 2003.

Ties between India and China were frosty for decades after the bitter war but since the late 1990s the rising Asian economic powers have gone about transforming it.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited India last month and the two sides agreed on a roadmap to settle their longstanding border row.

Although senior envoys of the two sides have been holding talks to end the row, analysts say resolving the row over the 3,500-km (2,200-mile) Himalayan frontier has a long way to go.

Troops from the two countries still occasionally have stand-offs when they stray across the frontier.

But General Singh dismissed such incidents as "nothing abnormal" and said they were a result of the "difference in perception" between the two sides of where the frontier lay.

"The (military) confidence-building measures will result in reducing tension and will also result in (reducing the) number of people deployed along the borders," he said.

[Gengis Khan]

Indo-Sino ties assuming strategic dimensions

New Delhi, May 26: Hinting that relations with China were assuming "strategic" dimensions, Army Chief general J J Singh today said the armies of the two nations might soon hold joint exercises in counter-insurgency and prepare for UN peacekeeping operations.

"We have drawn a roadmap for increasing interaction between the two armed forces which may soon lead to holding of joint exercises in counter terrorism and preparing for international peacekeeping operations," Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a joint Army-CII seminar on 'Information Warfare' here.

Asserting that the peace and tranquillity agreement was holding on the 4000 kilometre long Sino-Indian border, the Army Chief said there were few aberrations for which a mechanism had been institutionalised. He said these minimal cases are due to differences in perception in alignment of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and "we hope that once detailed maps are exchanged in all the three sectors - western, eastern and central, these issues would be resolved."

On the ongoing secretary-level talks on Siachen glacier being held in Islamabad, Singh said the Army has given its feedback to the government and "we are awaiting the outcome of talks". He said India's stand is that the present Actual Ground Positions (AGPL) between nj9842 to Upper Saltoro Ridge should be authenticated, as it will safeguard the country's interests in the future.

[jpsb]

Russia, India and China the nightmare aliance for the usa, realized during a GOP administration. Way to go Bush. USA, Japan(maybe), UK (maybe) vrs the world.

Bush needs to resign.

[Paul_Denton]

Ping

[Paul_Denton]

Resign? and replace with who? Kerry and Hitlery would be even worse. So far nearly all of our government will not even protect our borders much less build up our military to confront this threat.

[Avenger]

Well, if you will recall, Russia and China were thrown into each others arms by the NATO led war in Serbia during the Clinton administration. It was that war that led those countries to sign a mutual defense agreement and also led to greater arms sales from Russia to China. India is still an unknown quantity in my opinion.

[Paul_Denton]

Good point. While giving the F-16s to Pakistan was wrong (unless this new alliance was immenint BEFORE the F-16 deal), Bush cannot be the only one to blame.

[Pesmerga]

You're a moron! If it wasn't for that traitor Clinton and his treasonous act of giving secret defense and nuke info to those damn Chinese generals, this wouldn't have happened for another 30 years! Shut the hell up!

[jpsb]

Oh yea, I remember Kosovo, huge mistake, terrible blumder. But Bush is doing no better supporting Islamic terrorists all over the globe. I do not see much diference between Bush's policies and Clinton policies.

[Paul_Denton]

I thought that strategic alliance already existed under BRIC (Brazil Russia India China).

[Brilliant]

The US trains jointly with India, even with Russia on occasion.

[jpsb]

Our support of Pakistan and other Islamic terrorist states over India is driving India into this aliance. got nothing to do with BJ Bill.

[Brilliant]

Well, for one thing, Bush did not bomb China's embassy, unlike Clinton.

That obviously did not help our relations with them.

[jpsb]

Russia, India yes. Russia, China and India no.

[Gengis Khan]

 

 

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[Gengis Khan]

There is no such alliance called "BRIC alliance" (at least for now). It exists only in theory.

[jpsb]

Well at least one bomb landed on an enemy of the usa, Bush treats China like it's our best friend in this world and then sides with the enemies of nations where we actually share values and goals. Siding with Islamic terrorist nations (Pakistan, Albania, Saudi, Checknia, Palistine) instead of nations like India, Serbia and Russia. Real smart.

[Cronos]

Our support of Pakistan and other Islamic terrorist states over India is driving India into this aliance.

Quite correct.

[itsahoot]

I do not see much diference between Bush's policies and Clinton policies.

In fact Bush supported Clinton on Kosovo.

[Paul_Denton]

As far as I know only Tom Tancredo and a few other congressmen are anti-China. No idea of his India policy but I hear he is an isolationist too.

[Avenger]

"Our support of Pakistan and other Islamic terrorist states over India is driving India into this aliance."

China is Pakistan's closest ally.