India to seek enhanced interaction with Chinese armed forces
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, May 22, IRNA
India-China-Armed Forces
India will seek larger interaction with the Chinese armed forces by proposing scaling-up the level of joint exercises and training programs in a bid to enhance confidence building measures.
These proposals will be put forward by Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee who will be visiting China for four days from May 28, PTI report said here on Monday.
He embarks on a three-nation tour of Japan, China and Singapore from May 24.
Mukherjee said in New Delhi that his efforts would be to have much larger participation in joint military exercises, more exchange of visits by armed forces personnel and an expanded mutual training programme.
Though the Indian and Chinese navies have held two rounds of joint naval maneuvers of substantive content, the interaction between the ground forces has been confined to border meetings and mountaineering expeditions.
There has been no air force-to-air force contact.
Now apparently, Mukherjee wants to break the ice by proposing greater military-to-military interaction, even as top emissaries continue to sit across to resolve the boundary dispute across the Himalayan frontier.
He said that India had developed relationship with China politically, economically and commercially and 'these all-round developments, I think, should also be reflected in defense cooperation'.
During the four day visit to Beijing, Mukherjee will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart and other top leaders and PLA commanders.
The defense minister will go to some of the major Chinese defense establishments.
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