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Friday, Sep 28, 2007
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Uncertainty over Army exercises

Sandeep Dikshit

China feels such interaction should come under the ambit of annual dialogue

Defence delegations to meet sometime next month
Both concurred on holding exercises
in Chengdu

NEW DELHI: The fate of the first Army exercises with China will be decided at a meeting between defence delegations of both countries sometime next month. Both countries had virtually sealed the timing and scope of the exercises in August this year but China later felt that such interaction should come under the ambit of an annual dialogue, Army sources said. The Indian delegation is expected to ask China to delink the proposed joint exercises from the umbrella of an annual dialogue and hold subsequent exercises after a decision is taken at bilateral talks, they added.

In early August, both sides had almost concurred on holding the exercises in the Chengdu military region which oversees most of the border management in the Himalayas following the visit of Chief of the Army Staff Gen. J.J. Singh to China.

However, after the first interaction, China gave no word about the subsequent planning conferences for the exercises and instead indicated that such activity should be undertaken in a planned and sequential manner. The best forum for this should be an annual defence dialogue which should chalk out activities in the near future.

According to Army sources, it had been understood that 60 troops would go to China for two weeks in October-November. The exercises were to be held in the Malang training area of Yunan province which is part of the Chengdu military region. The delegation is expected to discuss the possibility of opening each other’s military institutes in phased manner.

The militaries of both countries have been interacting with each other largely under the 1996 agreement on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the line of actual control (LAC) which was supplemented by a protocol on implementing confidence building measures in 2005.

These pacts prohibit the holding of large military exercises near the LAC and to inform the other side 15 days in advance if exercises of up to 5,000 troops is staged.

In case of a perceived air intrusion, the other side can seek clarifications within two days. The investigation would be completed within four weeks and the report communicated to the aggrieved side.

Four steps have been defined in the case of an eye-ball-to-eye-ball confrontation with troops from both countries — returning to their respective bases, informing their headquarters, not using force and treating each other with courtesy and not putting up signs on the spot where the situation took place.

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