Indian Army General visits China, discusses security

Top Army Generals of India and China on Wednesday discussed “regional security environment” and border issues signalling an improvement in the relations between the two militaries that experienced tense moments in 2017 during the Doklam crisis.

Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, Northern Army Commander met Chinese Army Chief Gen Han Weiguo in Beijing during his five-day tour of the communist country, the Indian Army Northern Command says in a media statement.

Lt Gen Singh heads a delegation that would hold talks with senior officials of the People's Liberation Army besides visiting civil and military establishments in Beijing, Chengdu, Urumqi and Shanghai.

“Gen Han and Lt Gen Singh discussed issues having strategic ramifications such as regional security environment, joint training and measures to enhance peace and tranquillity along the border,” says the statement. The discussion happens in the backdrop of the worsening security situation in the Middle East.

India shares 3,488 km of the disputed border – Line of Actual Control – with China and two sides completed 22nd round of boundary talks last month. While taking over the charge as the new Army Chief earlier this month, Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane hoped for an eventual solution to the vexed border issue.

Lt Gen Singh is the second Kashmir Commander to travel to China after Lt Gen D S Hooda who visited in 2015.

But a decade ago, visa issues were at the core of a sharp dip in the Sino-Indian military relations after Beijing in 2010 refused to grant travel permission to Lt Gen B S Jaswal, dubbing the northern state as a “sensitive area”. India had lodged its protests, but China stood firm.

The blow-hot-blow-cold relations between the two Asian powers that fought a battle in 1962 deteriorated sharply after the Doklam face-off that continued for 72 days. The situation began to improve following the April 2018 Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.

The visit by Lt Gen Singh comes close on the heels of the successful Hand-in-Hand exercise between the two armies at Umroi in Meghalaya.