India to host joint military exercise with China

NEW DELHI: India will host the second joint military exercises with China, as the neighbours continue to mend ties after a brief but bitter border war in 1962, a report said on Sunday.

The first-ever military manoeuvres between the world's most populous nations were held in China in December, when about 200 Indian and Chinese troops jointly "took out" a group of supposed terrorists along their border.

"The next joint exercise will be held in India this year," Defence Minister A K Anthony was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

Anthony did not provide further details on the drill. The countries fought a brief war more than four decades ago over rival claims to Himalayan territory in a dispute that still has not been resolved.

India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometres (14,670 square miles) of its territory, while Beijing claims the whole of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is 90,000 square kilometres.

Nevertheless, China and India have enjoyed a thaw in relations in recent years, and the military exercises have been characterised by both sides as a sign of the warming ties.

The countries pledged to strengthen inter-military links during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Beijing in January.