After a gap of two years, troops of India and China are carrying out military drills in Chengdu of Sichuan province, neighbouring Tibet.
Dubbed 'Hand in Hand', the military exercise, an annual event since 2013, did not take place last year as the two sides were engaged in a 73-day face-off in the India-China- Bhutan tri-junction Doklam.
Military wargames started from Tuesday and will continue till December 23.
According to a defence ministry official, the joint military drill, the seventh in the series, is being held to improve the capabilities of the two armies in fighting terrorism, and to promote mutual understanding.
A contingent of 100 troops from Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are participating in the military drills which include adaptive training, basic training, live-fire shooting and comprehensive drills.
"The aim of the joint exercise is to acquaint both the armies with each others' operating procedures in the backdrop of counter-terrorism environment. Indian Army has vast experience in handling counter-terrorism operations" said the official.
The last episode of 'Hand in Hand' joint military exercise happened in 2016 in Pune's Aundh Military Camp. The first edition of the exercise was held in Kunming in China in 2007. The bilateral military-exercise has been suspended earlier as well between 2009 and 2013 after the controversy of denying visa to the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen B.S. Jaswal by China, citing its "sensitivities" over Kashmir.
Resumption of military wargames in an indication of normalisation of two sides, which took an ugly turn during last year's Doklam stand-off.
Nonetheless, ties between New Delhi and Beijing has taken a steady improvement after the Wuhan informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in April that played an important role to break the ice between the two militaries. In the recent past, sincere efforts are being taken by both sides to improve ties. There has been an increase in the meetings between the local commanders from both sides on the Line of Actual Control, probably to prevent Doklam-type situations in the future.
After Wuhan, PM Modi's speech in Shangri-La Dialogue indicated New Delhi's changed approach towards Beijing. India has also decided to re-engage with China on maritime dialogue. The last time India held maritime dialogue with China in 2016.
“We are talking and we are meeting each other. This is the big change," Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said after her visit to Beijing in April.
In an attempt to find solution to vexed border dispute, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China's State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held special representatives-level talk. Similarly, in November, Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra held 9th defence dialogue with Lt General Shao Yuanming, deputy chief of joint staff department of Central Military Commission, to boost bilateral relationship.
