Article Posted on : - Jul 07, 2014

Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh inspecting the Guard of Honour with the Chinese CGS, Gen. Fang Fenghui, at Bayi Building in Beijing, China on Thursday. Photo: PTI.

BEIJING (PTI): Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh visited a naval base and a naval ship in Shanghai on the final day of his China visit during which he interacted with the People's Liberation Army top brass to improve ties between the two militaries.

General Singh visited the naval base, one of the biggest of PLA's Navy (PLAN) and interacted with local commanders, officials said.

He later visited a newly built corvette class naval ship of PLAN before leaving for home concluding his five-day China trip.

During his visit to Beijing, Singh held talks with PLA Chief of Staff General Fang Fenghui on improving relations between the two militaries.

They discussed a host of issues, including the implementation of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) at the ground level to avert incidents like in the Depsang Valley in Ladakh last year when the presence of Chinese troops resulted in a standoff.

The two sides signed the BDCA last year laying out a standard operation procedures for troops aggressively patrolling disputed borders.

Fang has called for strengthening border control to prevent disruptions to the broader military-to-military relationship and bilateral ties.

Singh, who is the Chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, also held talks with Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission General Fan Changlong, Vice President Li Yuanchao and Vice Executive Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui.

Singh's visit came immediately after Vice President Hamid Ansari's visit to Beijing last week to take part in the 60th anniversary of Panchsheel celebrations.

Xi is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil this month.