India-China counter-terrorism cooperation enters a new era
- By Niranjan Sahoo
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 14, 2016
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Sino-Indian joint anti-terrorism training in November 2013. [Photo/People's Daily Online] |
India-China relation is poised for greater trust and cooperation. The proof lies in the recent participation of the PLA Navy in the India led International Fleet Review (IFR).
Giving a quiet burial to a lot of speculations and rumour mongering about Chinese antipathy to such naval exercise in the Indian Ocean, the PLA Navy participated in the recently held fleet review exercise in Visakhapatnam, India's eastern coast. This major event which saw the joining of over 50 navies across the world had two Type 054A Jiangkai-II-class frigates from the PLA Navy.
The Chinese decision effectively put an end to a cottage industry of speculators and analysts and their imaginary narrative of naval rivalry in the Asia-Pacific. The leadership of two Asian powers have shown greater maturity by not buying into such speculations and unrealistic demarcation of seas and oceans that are among few "global commons."
The healthy trend of India's invitation of the PLA Navy and China's prompt positive decision to participate in the joint naval exercise must be seen in the context of growing cooperation between two neighbors on host of issues. Notwithstanding the 1962 war and lingering border disputes, the leadership of the two countries have ensured that "not a single bullet is fired over the border dispute." Such a rare feat has been achieved through a series of confidence building measures, laying down robust communication systems and maintaining regular communication lines among the two armies to ensure any untoward incidents do not go beyond the manageable scale.
Since 1996, the two neighbors have institutionalized regular meetings of border personnel, opened hot lines for tactical communications and maintained no fly zones around the border. This has been further strengthened by signing of border defence mechanism agreement in 2013. Over a period of time, these initiatives have ensured that chances of volatile situations would not lead to unmanageable situation. This was clearly demonstrated during the Chumar standoff in September 2014.
In addition, both countries have done well to engage in annual dialogues between security establishments. A much talked about joint military endeavor to reduce distrust and strengthen cooperation is hand-in-hand exercise. The joint military drill which is continuing since 2007, saw the active participation of 175 Indian soldiers in Kunming recently. Apart from the traditional martial art, the joint exercise involved exchanges and operational manoeuvres on range of issues, particularly counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster management.
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