C
ultural diplomacy dominated India’s Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s just-concluded visit to China. The focus this week will be on bolstering defence relations, a key priority in the bilateral relationship identified by Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Army Chief General Bikram Singh begins his four-day visit to China July 2.
With a view to developing greater military-to-military trust, Gen. Singh is expected to hold talks with the top brass of the Chinese military establishment and foreign ministry officials, including Vice Chairman of the all-powerful Central Military Commission and the Chief of General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army. He has also been invited to address China’s National Defence University.
The visit is of special importance as it is extremely rare that an Army Chief visits China; Singh will be only the second Indian army chief to do so. Former Army chief Gen N.C. Vij had visited China in 2005.
It is expected that General Singh’s talks will focus on bettering ties between the two militaries at the various levels: headquarters, command and ground along the disputed boundary. India has repeatedly accused the Chinese troops of incursion into its territory, which is a source of constant concern in India as such incursions revive doubts about China’s strategic intentions vis-à-vis India.
In 2013, India and China signed a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) to speedily resolve issues arising out of incursions, and expand confidence-building measures between the two armies. The agreement was also meant to formalise rules regarding patrols in the border area.
This visit will be welcomed by those who have emphasised partnership, rather than rivalry between Asia’s second and third largest economies. Despite minor incidents at the border, the two countries have tried to find security convergences that concern both of them. Counter-terrorism and maritime cooperation, including anti-piracy operations, are some of evolving areas in India-China military cooperation.
India is scheduled to host the fourth “Hand in Hand” (HiH) counterterrorism exercise between the two armies in 2014. The two countries have held three joint militant exercises so far.
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