Committing to maintain peace and tranquility on the boundary, India and China today agreed that it was an "important guarantor" for growth in ties and in this context pledged to early conclusion of negotiations on a proposed pact aimed at avoiding flare-ups on the border.
After the talks between Defence Minister A K Antony with the Chinese leaders, the two sides agreed on a slew of confidence building measures, including having greater frequency of meetings at the border and increased exchange of visits of both young and senior armed forces officials.
In a joint statement after Antony's meetings with Premier Li Keqiang, his counterpart Gen Chang Wanquan and state councilor Yang Jiechi, the two sides said "defence exchanges were an important facet of the India-China strategic and cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity."
"Noting that peace and tranquility on the border was an important guarantor for the growth and development of bilateral cooperation, the Ministers emphasised the importance of enhancing mutual trust and understanding between the two militaries...," the joint statement said.
"Appreciating that border defence cooperation would make a significant contribution in maintenance of peace and tranquility, they agreed on an early conclusion of negotiations for the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) between the two Governments," it said.
China had proposed the BDCA in January to India but after the incident of incursion by the Chinese troops in April, the movement on the proposed act increased.
The Chinese Defence Minister also accepted the Indian invitation to visit India next year. (
While reviewing the existing agreements and protocols between the two sides, the two Ministers directed that they should be further strengthened and emphasised the importance of enhancing mutual trust and understanding between the two militaries.
The Ministers welcomed the holding of counter-terrorism bilateral joint exercise between their armies in China in October, 2013, and agreed on additional exchanges and visits between them.
The exchanges include that of senior military commanders from service headquarters, command region and field formations on a regular basis on a mutually agreed annual schedule.
Armies of India and China held their first exercises in 2007 at Belguam in Karnataka with plans to hold such events annually.
Similar exercises were held in 2008 at China's Kunming city.
"Visits of border troop delegations would be enhanced to promote dialogue and strengthen trust and cooperation. Border Personnel Meetings(BPM) will take place with greater frequency andadditional locations will be finalised after discussions," the joint statement said.
The two sides agreed that their Navies will increase ship visits, consider conducting joint maritime search and rescue exercises and cooperate in counter-piracy operations.
"The call by PLA Navy Hospital ship 'Peace Ark' to Mumbai in August 2013 was welcomed," the statement said.
It said that the air forces will carry out high level visits and expand their functional exchanges.
"They would focus on topics of mutual interest including flight safety, aviation medicine and training," the statement said.
To promote greater awareness and understanding among young officers of the armed forces, visits and exchanges will be carried out annually, it said.
"Military training institutions will also strengthen their exchanges at the faculty and student levels," it said.
Antony appreciated the warm hospitality extended to him and his high level delegation during the visit by the Chinese authorities.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks