India and China have agreed in principle to increase military-to-military contact to ensure incidents of incursion like the one in Depsang in Ladakah last year does not put the fragile peace along the disputed Sino-India border at risk.
Visiting Indian Army chief General Bikram Singh held a series of discussions in Beijing on Thursday where he is understood to have told his military counterparts and senior Chinese leadership that there should be no repetition of the incident where Chinese soldiers pitched tents inside Indian territory.
The focus was on maintaining peace and tranquility along the border as per the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) signed during former PM Manmohan Singh’s China visit.
Singh met the Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army, Fang Fenghui and the vice-chaiperson of the Central Military Commission — Fan Changlong.
Singh also met vice-president Li Yuanchow for a one-on-one meeting.
“India attaches the highest priority to its relations with China, and committed to further developing friendly and cooperative relations with your country,” Singh said.
The state media said, “The Indian Army chief’s visit has reinforced India’s willingness to take closer ties with China to a higher level. Yet both sides are aware that further development won’t happen if they don’t address the tough issues.”
{{/usCountry}}The state media said, “The Indian Army chief’s visit has reinforced India’s willingness to take closer ties with China to a higher level. Yet both sides are aware that further development won’t happen if they don’t address the tough issues.”
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, Indian journalists based in Beijing were blacked-out from Singh’s visit to Beijing and Shanghai and were denied access to his meetings.