Beijing: China on Wednesday said a "new
breakthrough" has been achieved in its military relations with
India, noting that a high-level Indian defence delegation
would soon be visiting this country.
"New breakthroughs" and developmental momentum have
emerged in Sino-India military ties, Geng Yansheng, a
spokesman for the Chinese Defence Ministry, was quoted by the
state-run Xinhua news agency as saying.
The visiting delegation of Indian border patrol forces
will include officers from several branches of India`s
military, Geng said, without providing details.
He was apparently referring to a recent decision by India
and China to resume defence exchanges at the meeting between
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao
in Sanya on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.
The exchanges were put off by India after China declined
to provide a regular visa to Commander of the Indian Army`s
Northern Sector Lt Gen B S Jaswal for a visit to Beijing for
official talks on the ground that he headed troops of Jammu
and Kashmir which Beijing considered a disputed area.
The defence exchanges were resumed apparently after China
started issuing regular visas to the residents of the Jammu
and Kashmir.
The multi-command Indian military delegation headed by
officer of the rank of Lt General is expected to visit China
in June this year.
Gang said that only by observing the guidelines of mutual
respect, understanding and accommodation and seeking common
ground while reserving some differences, can the two
militaries enhance their strategic mutual trust.
The Chinese side will promote exchanges and cooperation
with India in various fields and at different levels, he said,
highlighting the preconditions of mutual respect for each
other`s concerns.
PTI
