China, India start anti-terrorism drill

The units involved on both sides consist of infantry and headquarter elements. He said that the exercise would expand the scope of military interaction, facilitate exchange of best practices in counter terrorism operations, enhance mutual understanding and trust and further promote friendly relationship between both militaries.

The fifth joint military exercise between India and China, Hand-in-Hand 2015, commenced today at Kunming Military Academy in Yunan Province, China.

Both countries are positive about the joint military drills and are aiming for high-level communications while continuing their defense cooperation, and pushing their military ties to a new high.

In the second phase, troops will be trained in combat, anti-terrorism tactics, humanitarian aid and disaster-relief communication and the two sides will also conduct joint manoeuvres. “Commanders and Staff Officers of both sides will work in close coordination to receive and collate intelligence and to issue suitable operational orders to the combined field training components, who in turn will execute these orders on ground, ” the Business Standard notes. For instance: “our Indian partner arrived late in the evening and went straight into the training program with the Chinese troops”, LT. General Zhou Xiaozhou with Chengdu military region said.

While China had in the past objected strongly to India including Japan in its annual naval Exercise Malabar with the United States, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday in response to questions about the India-US-Japan drills, “We are not that fragile”.

Ashok K Kantha, the Indian Ambassador, said during the inaugural ceremony that the exercise is “truly “joint” in planning, command structure and in action”.

The border incidents and recent “confrontations” were “not created on goal but happened by accident”, Wang Dehua, a Chinese strategic expert, said in a commentary published Monday in the Party-run Global Times. “Leaders from both China and India have consensus and enough means to take divergences under control”, the article said. Ten ships – four of USA, five from India and one from Japan – are participating in the exercise that is being closely watched by China.