Recurring incidents of incursions, implementation of an agreement to reduce tensions between border patrols and Sino-India strategic concerns were among the issues expected to figure in Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s talks with top Chinese military officials tomorrow.
Parrikar, who arrived here from Shanghai by a special aircraft, will hold talks with Chinese Defence Minister General Chang Wanquan, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) General Fan Changlong and others.
CMC which is the supreme commanding body of the 2.3 million strong People’s liberation Army (PlA) is headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Parrikar will call on Premier li Keqiang. later, he would visit China’s recently integrated western command military headquarters which has jurisdiction over border with India.
The minister is accompanied by senior officials from army and navy, besides the defence ministry.
While Indian officials said the talks were expected to review the whole gamut of bilateral ties which showed considerable improvements in the recent times, India’s concerns over aggressive patrolling by Chinese troops especially in the ladakh sector remained high.
China denies any incursions, asserting that its troops patrolled areas of its territory in the 3,488-km long disputed border.
The two countries may discuss further modalities of the 2013 Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) which has outlined various measures to address tensions arising out of the aggressive patrolling by both sides.