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India, China for border of ‘peace and tranquillity’ |
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In a sign of their warming relations, India and China, who fought a bitter war 42 years ago, have agreed to “ensure peace and tranquillity” on their border.
The two countries also agreed, during the Dec 22-29 visit to China of the Indian Army Chief, Gen. N.C. Vij, to increase meeting points for their troop commanders along their border.
India and China “reiterated their faith in the principles of Panchsheel and in the agreements signed in 1993 and 1996”, a Defence Ministry statement said.
“Both sides expressed their desire to increase the military-to-military interaction through exchanges at all levels.
“India and China will send officers to each other’s military training institutions and participate in multilateral exercises, including those on non-traditional security.
“The issue of increasing meeting points along the border was raised by Gen. Vij and it was agreed in principle to do so by both the sides. All the interactions were conducted in a warm and constructive atmosphere,” the statement said.
The Army Chief’s visit took place at the invitation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China. It was the first visit to China by an Indian Army Chief since Gen. B.C. Joshi went there in 1994.
Zeng “conveyed that the Chinese government attached great importance to the visit” while Gen. Cao “emphasized that further momentum to more exchanges between the two armies be given, as suggested by Gen. Vij.”
Gen. Vij extended an invitation to Gen. Liang, Chief of General Staff, and his deputy, Gen. Xiong Quangkai, to visit India. The invitations were accepted and the visits are likely to take place in the first half of 2005.
The Army Chief and his delegation visited military establishments in Shanghai, Qingdao and Xi’an, as well as in Beijing. They witnessed a number of training events and demonstrations.
The delegation visited the National Defence University in Beijing for a detailed briefing on the curriculum of various training courses being conducted by the PLA.
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