From the Rantburg Diplomacy Desk:
India's army chief General Nirmal Chandra Vij was in China on a landmark week-long visit to improve relations -- the first such trip in a decade, diplomats said. "The aim of his visit is basically to promote bilateral relations further and to improve the friendly relations between both countries and the armed forces," a senior Indian diplomat told AFP. India and China fought a brief but bitter border war in 1962 that left their relations in shreds. But in recent years they have played down their territorial disputes to focus on improving commercial and other ties. The Times of India newspaper said India and China have decided to exchange officers to observe each other's military exercises and explore the possibilities of further joint drills. Last year, the two sides conducted their first ever joint naval exercises off the coast of Shanghai. China also conducted joint coastal search and rescue exercises and anti-terrorism drills with India's rival Pakistan this year. Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was in Beijing last week, with both sides agreeing to strengthen military ties. China is Pakistan's strongest ally and Islamabad relies heavily on Beijing for its defence needs. China's transfer and sale of missile technology to Pakistan has long been a source of serious concern to India.| India seems to be making nice with everyone lately... |
"Gosh! You got a really big army!"
"And you got a really big army!" |
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