India invites China for border talks

NEW DELHI: Hoping to prevent transgressions along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, Delhi has invited Beijing for Director General Military Operations (DGMO) talks as part of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) signed during PM Manmohan Singh's trip to Beijing last October.

The Indian Army has extended the invitation for DGMO-level talks to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), government officials said. China does not have a DGMO, but a deputy chief of general staff of the PLA was likely to visit Delhi for the talks, officials added. Article III of the BDCA provides for 'periodic meetings between officers of the relevant military regions of China and Army Commands of India and between departments responsible for military operations'. BDCA also provides for periodic meetings between officers of the regional military headquarters specifically between the Chengdu military region and India's Eastern Command, and Lanzhou military region and India's Northern Command. India has similar DGMO-level mechanism with Pakistan.

It also refers to setting up a hotline between senior military officials of the two countries. The two DGMOs talk to each other every Tuesday over a special hotline.