The ninth Annual Defence and Security Dialogue between India and China was held in Beijing on November 13. The Hindustan Times reported on November 15 that the two sides “have agreed to expand bilateral exchanges involving top generals as well as young army officers in a bid to strengthen communication between their armies…Reciprocal high-level visits and joint training exercises for the military – two of the world’s largest – will also be enhanced.”
The report quoted the statement made following the dialogue as saying, “Both sides reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility in the India-China border areas, implementing the consensus of Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping, and specific additional Confidence Building Measures at the operational level”.
Photo: Reuters
The dialogue was jointly chaired by Indian Defense Secretary Sanjay Mitra and China’s Lt General Shao Yuanming who is Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.
The 4,075 km long border between India and Chinese-occupied Tibet has been contentions since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, followed by the Sino-Indian war in 1962. China makes regular incursions onto Indian soil, escalating tensions.Following the dialogue, both countries reiterated the significance of maintaining tranquility and peace in the border areas and emphasised the importance of the dialogue as a “mechanism between the two countries for consultations on defense and security matters”.
The border is referred to as the Line of Actual Control and follows the McMahon Line set up at the 1914 Simla Convention between India, Tibet, the United Kingdom and China – although China never ratified the agreement and has contested the border ever since.The LAC travels through three north Indian states – Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and in the east, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Print
Email