Huffingtonpost.in
HufPost Staff
October 22, 2015
Beijing is willing to expand militaries ties with New Delhi to enhance mutual trust between the two forces, a Chinese general told the Hindustan Times Thursday.
Concluding an Indo-China counter-terrorism exercise, Major General Zhang Bing, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chengdu military region, said an important achievement of the drill was discussions on jointly conducting disaster relief. “China is willing to expand the scope of exchange and cooperation between our two armies. In that way, we can enhance our mutual trust and friendship,” Zhang said at the PLA Infantry Battalion of the 14 Group Army’s training academy where the drill was held.
India and China have fought a war in 1962, which India lost. In the decades since, there have been frequent altercations regarding allegations of border infiltrations into Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Tibet and Sikkim. China is India’s largest trading partner with, however, an overwhelming portion of the trade balance in China’s favour.
Officials told NDTV that a significant feature of this Indo-China military exercise was that both sides designed special drills, pooling up their anti-terrorism experiences.
While India has been confronting infiltration by terrorists in Kashmir, China is battling the terror menace from East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) in Xinjiang for the past few years.
Indian Army personnel keep vigilance at Bumla pass at the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh on October 21, 2012. Bumla is the last Indian Army post at the India-China border at an altitude of 15,700 feet above sea level. AFP PHOTO/ BIJU BORO (Photo credit should read BIJU BORO/AFP/Getty Images)
