Indian Defense Delegation Visits China

New Delhi, April 24, IRNA -- Notwithstanding the incursion by Chinese troops in Ladakh, India has gone ahead with the visit of an Army delegation to Beijing to finalize the dates of bilateral military exercise expected to be held later this year. The decision to send the delegation was taken to avoid any escalation in the situation after the Chinese incursion was detected in Daulat Beg Oldi area in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir over a week ago, pti reported quoting sources as said here. The delegation is being headed by a Brigadier from the Military Operations Branch and it will finalize the date for the third edition of the hand-to-hand exercise between the two sides after a gap of four years. The exercise is expected to be held in September-October this year, they said. India and China had last held the last edition of the exercise in December 2008 in Belgaum in Karnataka while the first edition was held in 2007 in Kunming province of China. During the visit of former Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie to India last September, both sides had decided to resume their military exercises. During the talks, Defense Minister A K Antony had also accepted an invitation to visit China. The visit is likely to see the two sides further discuss the proposal for a Border Defense Cooperation Agreement mooted by the Chinese side during the visit its Deputy Chief of General Staff last month. The border defense cooperation agreement proposes to avoid any misunderstanding or flare-up along the boundary./end