From Asia Sentinel:
Driven into each other’s arms by global concerns over energy, Tibet and other issues, India and China conduct their first ever joint military exercises
India and China last week concluded their first-ever war games near Kunming in Yunnan province. Although the eight-day exercise, which ended December 28, involved only two companies of about 100 soldiers from each side, it was an important development for world politics as well as South Asian ones.
Both emerging economic powerhouses have hitherto been known for their strained bilateral relations, beginning with the bloody Sino-Indian border conflict in 1962. Frequent Chinese incursions on the Indian and Bhutan borders and the Chinese cold response to the US’s acquiescence to Indian nuclear ambitions only made it worse. Of late, however, there is a conscious attempt to put the bitter past behind and the latest military diplomacy is regarded as part of that effort. [Full Text]
