Chinese military delegation meets Army officers in Kolkata

KOLKATA: A 10-member military delegation from the People's Republic of China was in Kolkata for two days till Tuesday and interacted with senior officers of the Indian Army's Eastern Command headquarters at Fort William. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) delegation was led by a Major General-rank officer and hosted for dinner at the officers' mess at Fort William by Lt Gen N P Padhi, chief of staff, Eastern Command and other members of the staff.

The visit is of particular importance as there have been repeated instances of incursions by the PLA across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. In response, India also resorted to a round of saber-rattling by landing a C-130J Hercules at the Daulat Beg Oldie advanced landing ground, bang on the LAC and expressed concern with China. Sources, however, said that China is eager for better ties with India and the two sides are even preparing for joint exercises later this year.

"The exercise is slated to be held between November 4 and 14 at the Chengdu Military Region in China. Prime minister Manmohan Singh is also expected to visit China later this year. Even before this visit, the PM may interact with a Chinese delegation on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Brunei. The joint exercises in November will focus on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. Officers from the Eastern Command were a part of discussions when the dates were finalized in Delhi and China believes that visits such as these will build confidence," an officer said.

Even senior officers of the Eastern Command don't see much into the incursions. "China has its own idea about the LAC. India has another idea. That is where the dispute arises. At the moment, we don't feel that the incursions are a major security threat to the country. All disputes are sorted out through bilateral discussions," one of them said.

The Indian and Chinese armies have participated in exercises in the past. The first time this happened was in 2007 when the two armies met at Kunming in China. A year later, the armies came together yet again for Exercise Hand in Hand at Belgaum in which an infantry battalion from Chengdu and the 8 Maratha Light Infantry met.

During their visit to the city, members of the Chinese military delegation visited several places in Kolkata including the Victoria Memorial. They were also taken around the Eastern Command Museum inside Fort William.

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