NEW DELHI: India and China plan to bring a sharp focus to trust-building between their armies as China’s Defence Minister and State Councillor Wei Fenghe arrives in India on Tuesday for a four-day visit.
During Wei’s visit, the two countries will deliberate on implementation of decisions taken during the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan in April, officials said.
The two countries will explore measures for building trust between their armies, which are on vigil at the 3,500-km China-India border, to avoid a repeat of military face-offs such as the one at Doklam, and Wei will also visit an Indian military establishment, according to officials.
“A range of issues and options will be deliberated upon at the talks, which will be in sync with what the leadership of the two countries had agreed to in the Wuhan summit,” said an official.Wei will also meet Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday to hold delegation-level talks.
India and China are likely to deliberate on a mechanism which will ensure that both sides inform each other before they carry out any patrolling in the disputed areas along the border. The other deliberations will be on setting up of a hotline between the two armies in order to resolve their differences.
Modi and Xi resolved to explore new ties during their informal summit meeting in Wuhan. This came after the military face-off between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in Doklam triggered fears of war.