Chinese daily says joint military exercise promotes ties
A Chinese state-run daily said that the joint military drills between China and India will "surely promote bilateral collaboration." It said that "a joint military exercise is a barometer of bilateral relationships" and both the nations agreed to enhance their military cooperation. The exercise named "Hand-in-Hand 2015", will see troops of both sides undergo intensive joint training, including demonstrations, and a comprehensive joint exercise.
Exercise Malabar is a bilateral naval exercise involving the United States and India. The annual Malabar series which began in 1992 expanded over years to include Japan, Australia and/or Singapore. Malabar-2015, will see Japan join India and and US in the naval drills in Bay of Bengal. From October 14-19, the three navies will rehearse scenarios for destroying hostile submarines, surface warships and aircraft.
The trilateral ministerial meeting between US, India and Japan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, in September was a significant development in the areas of cooperation and security.
China previously had objected to the five-nation exercise Malabar-2007, hosted by India in the Bay of Bengal and went on a diplomatic offensive. Following this, India backed off from multi-lateral exercises and the drills when held in a trilateral format that included Japan, took place in the West Pacific. China carefully monitored the trilateral exercise to gauge if Japan would become a permanent participant.
China claims most of the energy-rich, disputed South China Sea over which its neighbors- Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have overlapping claims. China's construction of artificial islands in South China Sea, reflecting Beijing's maritime ambitions, heightened tensions in the region with US and Philippines opposing it. US is determined to challenge China with patrols through a 12-nautical mile zone around these islands.
India and China kicked off their fifth annual anti-terrorism exercise in China's Kunming city as both the sides seek to share their experiences in counter-terrorism operations. A contingent of 175 troops from 2nd Battalion of Naga Regiment from Eastern Command and an equal number of Chinese personnel from the Chengdu based 14 corps are participating in the manouevres which will continue till Oct 22.
The first drill was held in southwest China's Yunnan Province in 2007, followed by drills in Belgaum in Karnataka in 2008. The third round was held in southwest China's Sichuan in 2013, followed by the fourth in Pune in 2014.
