NEW DELHI: Chinese President Xi Jinping has suggested enhancing “mutual trust between militaries of India and China”, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said here on Saturday. Briefing media persons on the talks between PM Narendra Modi and Xi, Gokhale said that it was the Chinese president who had raised the issue of engaging more in the defence and security spheres.
“There was a brief review of the ongoing exchanges and cooperation, after which the president of China said we need to step up engagement in this area, this will enhance mutual trust between the two militaries and the security forces,” he said.
Gokhale said China had extended an invitation to the defence minister to visit China. The dates would be discussed through diplomatic channels.
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Modi and Xi agreed that many of the dialogue mechanisms formed or reformed since the Wuhan summit had created a good momentum in ties, and engagements across all sectors had intensified.
A senior Army officer who has commanded a corps on the Line of Actual Control said, “The number of interactions has increased. Matters that earlier needed intervention by higher officials are now getting resolved at the local level.”Recent events along the LAC corroborate what the officer said. A face-off on the northern flank of Pangong Tso Lake in September was resolved by the local commanders.
Another matter in July this year related to the movement of locals residing on both sides of the LAC in Yangtse, close to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, was also resolved at the local level.Jabin Jacob, China watcher and adjunct research fellow at the National Maritime Foundation, said increasing military interactions was a good idea, but added that India needed to develop a mechanism for using officers returning from China for dedicated China work.