Article Posted on : - Apr 28, 2011

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the Chinese President Hu Jintao. A file photo

BEIJING (PTI): China on Wednesday said a "new breakthrough" has been achieved in its military relations with India, noting that a high-level Indian defence delegation would soon be visiting this country.

"New breakthroughs" and developmental momentum have emerged in Sino-India military ties, Geng Yansheng, a spokesman for the Chinese Defence Ministry, was quoted by the state-run Xinhua news agency as saying.

The visiting delegation of Indian border patrol forces will include officers from several branches of India's military, Geng said, without providing details.

He was apparently referring to a recent decision by India and China to resume defence exchanges at the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese President Hu Jintao in Sanya on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

The exchanges were put off by India after China declined to provide a regular visa to Commander of the Indian Army's Northern Sector Lt Gen B S Jaswal for a visit to Beijing for official talks on the ground that he headed troops of Jammu and Kashmir which Beijing considered a disputed area.

The defence exchanges were resumed apparently after China started issuing regular visas to the residents of the Jammu and Kashmir.

The multi-command Indian military delegation headed by officer of the rank of Lt General is expected to visit China in June this year.

Gang said that only by observing the guidelines of mutual respect, understanding and accommodation and seeking common ground while reserving some differences, can the two militaries enhance their strategic mutual trust.

The Chinese side will promote exchanges and cooperation with India in various fields and at different levels, he said, highlighting the preconditions of mutual respect for each other's concerns.