India, China to hold defence secretary-level talks

New Delhi: Trying to build on newly discovered warmth in bilateral relationships India and China upgrade the level of their defence dialogue with a first time ever visit by an Indian defence secretary to Beijing. The aim of the visit is to explore the nature of confidence building measures both nations could institute to ease tensions along the Line of Actual Control.

PLA delegation led by Lt Gen Shu Yu Tai

The defence secretary, Pradeep Kumar, will be in Beijing on 6 January accompanied by senior military officials including a representative of the army's Eastern Command as well as the Directorate of Military Operations. He is expected to meet a range of top officials from the Chinese Army (PLA).

It is likely that talks may explore the possibility of expanding the scope of joint exercises between both militaries. After a small beginning these bilateral military exercises sputtered out with China-induced hysteria over Arunachal Pradesh.  

As is usual with all things Indo-Chinese a decision to start dialogue at this level was agreed upon three years ago, but typically the Chinese dispatched a junior officer for such a meet, which the Indians matched with a joint secretary level officer.  Such game playing is typical of relations between the two nations and there is more hype attending all 'initiatives' than actual substance.

In December 2008, PLA's deputy chief of general staff Lt Gen Ma Xiaotian visited India and met then defence secretary Vijay Singh.

This was matched with an Indian gesture when the Indian Army's Eastern Command chief Lt Gen VK Singh visited China and was taken to Tibet for a visit. The Chinese commander of the Tibetan region, Lt Gen Shu Yu Tai visited Delhi in December 2009 and met defence secretary Pradeep Kumar and was also accorded hospitality by the Eastern Command.