Asia

A Year Later: India-China Resume Joint Military Exercise

The two countries had suspended the annual military exercise in 2017 following a 73-day bitter standoff at the Doklam plateau which ended thanks to diplomatic efforts in August 2017.
Sputnik

A 100-member strong contingent of the Indian armed forces have landed in Chengdu, southwest China, for the "Hand-in-Hand" joint military exercise.

"Indian Army contingent led by Col. Puneet Tomar arrived in Chengdu for the India China Hand-in-Hand joint training exercises to be held from 10-23 December in China," Indian embassy in Beijing said.

The 7th in the series "Hand-in-Hand" exercises will be presented by 100 soldiers from each side that will undergo adaptive training, basic training, live-round shooting and comprehensive drills.

"The joint training can help promote mutual trust and understanding, deepen practical exchanges and cooperation between troops and improve their capabilities in counter-terrorism," Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense of China said on November 29 about the exercise.

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During the Wuhan informal summit in June this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's President Xi Jinping had agreed to issue "strategic guidance" to their respective militaries to maintain peace and tranquility at the border in the "larger interest of the overall development of bilateral relations."

Following the Wuhan summit that was considered an icebreaker after the Doklam standoff, top leaders of the two countries met several times this year including four meetings between Modi and Jinping on the sidelines of different global forums. Later this month, China's foreign minister Wang Yi is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi to launch a forum for high-level people-to-people and cultural exchange on December 21.

READ MORE: China Significantly Reduces Troops at Border With India – Government Source

"This year has remained very important and fruitful for our bilateral relations. I am confident that next year would be much better than this. Wuhan informal summit was a major milestone in our relationship that provides momentum to our engagement and opens new vistas in our co-operation," Prime Minister Modi said after meeting Xi Jinping on the sidelines of G-20 summit in Argentina.

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