New Delhi: India has proposed to set up a
new Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) venue along the
Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh stretch of the Sino-Indian border
as part of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) between the two
countries.
The proposal was given to the Chinese side during the 4th
round of the Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) between the two
countries earlier this month, sources said.
So far, the two sides hold meetings at regular intervals
at three such facilities in Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh,
Nathu La in Sikkim and Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.
The need for such a facility was felt by the Indian side
as there was no such venue in the central sector of the
4,057-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two
countries, they said.
The proposal made by the Indian side headed by Defence
Secretary Shashikant Sharma is still being considered by the
Chinese side, sources said.
The LAC is broadly divided into three sectors which
include Ladakh in Western, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in
Central and Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in Eastern sector.
At the ADD, India and China had agreed to enhance defence
exchanges and communications for better understanding and
mutual trust.
Both sides had agreed to strictly adhere to provisions of
2005 Protocol for implementation of CBMs on the LAC to
maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas.
Agreeing to enhance the range and scope of exchanges at
various levels, China would be sending a military delegation
to New Delhi by the end of this month, which will be
reciprocated by India in January 2012.
PTI
