India restores military exchanges with China

(TibetanReview.net, Jun20, 2011) India and China are resuming their military ties with the dispatch by the latter of a army delegation on Jun 19, reported AFP Jun 17. The ties had remained frozen since Jul 2010 after China refused to provide visa to the of India’s Northern Army Command, which has Jammu and Kashmir under its jurisdiction, saying he controlled a disputed territory. India retaliated by calling off all military exchanges between the two sides, including by canceling a Chinese officer’s scheduled visit.

China controls a sliver of Kashmir and regards the region, which is also split with Pakistan, as disputed territory.

India is now sending an eight-member delegation headed by Major General Gurmeet Singh who heads the Delta Force, part of a specialized anti-insurgency unit deployed in Kashmir. China now does not seem to have a problem issuing a visa. The report said the delegation will travel to Beijing and Xinjiang (East Turkestan) on a six-day visit.

The report cited media reports as suggesting the decision to resume defense cooperation was reached during talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao in China in April.

The resumption of military exchange with India takes place in the backdrop of China’s recent new assertiveness and angry exchanges with Vietnam and Philippines over disputed archipelagos which are both strategic and also said to be rich in oil, gas and fish resources.

Source: Tibetan Review.
Link: http://www.tibetanreview.net/news.php?cat=10&&id=9105.