China and India kicked off a joint military drill Sichuan province in Chengdu. India and China fought a bitter battle in 1962, followed by a plethora of border skirmishes, the latest being in Dokalam. Both the nations are keen on improving ties, but are also competing for influence in the Indian Ocean.
Codenamed “Hand-in-Hand 2018”, the training aims to strengthen the counter-terrorism capabilities of the two armies. During the 14-day event, troops from both sides will interact with each other. They are scheduled to have basic training, establish a unified anti-terrorism command and conduct live-fire anti-terrorism operations.
Wang Weijun, head of the Chinese side, said through this joint exercise, the two armies can learn good training methods from each other, which is conducive to improving their capabilities in response to the menace of terrorism.
“On the other hand, it will promote mutual trust between us and bring our exchange and cooperation to a higher level,” said Wang. The Indian side also expresses their expectation for this cooperation.
“The People’s Liberation Army and the Indian army are both very professional armies. We have a lot to learn from each other. By these exchanges and such exercises, we can achieve a lot of synergy, understanding of each other’s procedures and achieve anti-terror capability, so that we can… increase friendship between our two armies,” said colonel Puneet Pratap Singh Tomar, head of the Indian side.
This is the seventh joint training in the series between the two sides since 2007. It will last until December 23.
