India and China are keen to allow military officers on either side to attend courses at specialised military training academies in each other’s country — a move that will be keenly watched by Islamabad, Tokyo, Washington and even Moscow.
The two countries, edgy over each other’s claims and counter-claims along the 3,488-km-long frontier running all along the Himalayan ridge line, have negligible military exchange. Rather, India is suspicious of China joining hands with Pakistan and launching a simultaneous two-front war.
A high-level Indian delegation led by Air Marshal PP Reddy, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC), was in Beijing on March 20 where the Chinese side offered exchange of cadets and officers in academies of either country.
Admiral Sun Jianguo, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), made the offer, sources said. Admiral Sun Jianguo’s opinion was that the two militaries should maintain high-level exchanges, enhance mutual trust, manage and control differences and deepen pragmatic cooperation in fields such as education and training.
“India is not averse to it. Rather, it is open about it but the modalities need to be worked out,†top sources told The Tribune while terming the move as part of the confidence-building measures.
Allowing exchanges in military academies has been discussed for the first time at such a high level, sources said.
Defence Secretary RK Mathur will be in China on April 8 for the annual defence dialogue (ADD) where the matter is expected to come up for discussion and decision-making.
So far, New Delhi and Beijing have had — over the past 7-8 years — four rounds of the ‘hand-in-hand’ series of counter-terrorism military exercises. They have also conducted half a dozen scheduled border personnel meets at the three designated spots — Spangur Gap in eastern Ladakh, Nathu La in Sikkim and Bum la in Arunachal Pradesh.
“To have a small number of Chinese military personnel attending a course in an academy here in India will be an entirely different ball game,†said an officer, pointing out that, so far, officers of ‘friendly countries’ attend such courses.
The exchanges can be possible at all levels like the National Defence College or the Army War College, or other academies like the Indian Military Academy, IAF Academy or the Naval Academy.
