Indo-China militaries to expand cooperation: Govt
8 May 2015 6:08 AM IST
Indian and Chinese militaries have agreed on the need to expand cooperation and identify new avenues of engagement, government said on Thursday.
In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh (Retd) said the 7th Annual Defence and Security dialogue between the two countries was held in Beijing from April 9-11.
“The two sides noted that the leadership of two countries had recognised the maintenance of peace and tranquillity on the borders as an important guarantor for the development and growth of bilateral relationship between both countries,” he said.
The Minister said that both sides agreed on the need to expand military cooperation and for identifying new avenues of engagement.
The dialogue was held in the backdrop of China expressing a wish to link up its Maritime Silk Road (MSR) project with India’s ‘Mausam’ plans and trilateral cooperation between India, China and Sri Lanka to address India’s security concerns in the Indian Ocean.
The defence officials talks had an added significance as Modi will visit China next week during which border issue is likely to come up in his meetings with Chinese leaders. “Looking forward to visiting China from 14-16 May to strengthen friendship between our two ancient civilisations and the two largest developing countries,” Modi wrote on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo.
India, China have learnt from history: Modi on border issue
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said India and China have "learnt from history" in dealing with their border dispute and asserted that bilateral ties have reached a stage where they can cooperate at a global stage while competing in commerce and trade. Ahead of his visit to China next week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an interview to TIME magazine, said, "There is by and large peace and tranquillity on the India-China border." "It is not a volatile border. Not a single bullet has been fired for over a quarter of a century now. This essentially goes to prove that both countries have learnt from history," said Modi, who will embark on a three-day visit to China on May 14. Modi will be hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the ancient Chinese city of Xian, the capital of the Chinese leader's home province. The two leaders will have an informal dialogue on a host of issues before settling for formal talks on May 15 in Beijing. Besides Xi, Modi will hold talks with Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman of the China's legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC).
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