India, China set for second joint military exercise

The Indian army, sources say, is busy finalising plans for the second joint military exercises, in which Chinese armymen will for the first time land in India for such an event. Around 100 troops and at least five officers of the Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA) would take part in the exercises.

The Indian Air Force (IAF), on its part, is getting ready to showcase Surya Kiran, its 11-plane acrobatic squadron, to the Chinese.

Although the dates are yet to be finalised, sources say the two events have been scheduled for September-October.

The Chinese-Indian team would carry out exercises on fighting armed insurgents in urban centres, an area in which Indian army has a vast experience.

The event, likely to be held in Punjab, would be held over one week. "The exercise is being conducted at the company level, the basic unit in the army's group hierarchy,'' said a source in the defence ministry.

The army exercises have been an annual event since India and China signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2006 on "holding joint military exercises, cooperation in counter-terrorism, anti-piracy efforts and in search and rescue operations.'' In December, around 100 Indian soldiers had visited Kumming in the Yuan province bordering Myanmar for counter-insurgency exercises.

The decision to hold the second joint army exercise in India was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao in January during Singh's visit to China.

The IAF's Surya Kiran team, which has performed in several countries, would be showing its skills in Beijing and some other Chinese cities." This will be a goodwill trip. Any IAF exercise with China is likely to take place only after that," said an IAF source. Indian and Chinese navies had conducted joint exercises last year.