BEIJING: 21 Dec 2007

Troops from India and China on Friday began the first-ever joint military exercise at Kunming, the provincial capital of the Southwest Chinese province of Yunnan, some 45 years after the two countries had engaged in a war.

The Chinese government expressed strong optimism about positive outcome of the exercise with one official suggesting that it would be followed by several other joint exercises. "We hope Chinese and Indian armies, in the future, can carry out many more exchanges and cooperate in diversified forms and subjects," Wu Xiaoyi, deputy director of the Asian Affairs Bureau under the Foreign Affairs Office of China's Defense Ministry, said.

"The only aim is to further boost the bilateral relationship that has already demonstrated good momentum of growth," he said. The five-day "Hand-in-hand-2007", as the drill has been named, is expected to act as a confidence building exercise to help the two nations sort out a serious border dispute and a sense of distrust left behind by the 1962 war.

Between 80 and 100 soldiers from each country are participating in the exercise while several senior officials are watching from the sidelines to assess the capabilities of each army.

"We would like to join hands with India to make unremitting efforts to push for building a harmonious world featuring long-lasting peace and common prosperity," the commander of Chinese troops, Major Gen. Xiong Zuoming, was quoted by the official media as saying. The drill will focus on anti-terrorism measures and work out ways for troops of the two nations to work together in the face of a possible terrorist threat in future.

The drill is the outcome of a Memorandum of Understanding for Exchanges and Cooperation in the field of Defense signed between the defense ministries of China and India on May 29, 2006. The drill plan has been worked out in detail by military officials of India and China during meetings held in Kolkata and Kunming in recent weeks.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the exercise was intended to enhance mutual understanding and trust and promote bilateral strategic partnership. China and India, as the world's two largest developing nations, enjoyed a consensus about safeguarding world peace and promoting development and cooperation, he said.

Qin mentioned the Panchasheel agreement saying the two giant nations were initiators of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. Governments of the two countries have agreed that the boundary issue should be solved at an earlier date through dialogue and consultations in an equal and friendly manner, Qin said.

By (TofI)