India-China troops exchange gifts, hold meeting in Ladakh

New Delhi: In another clear signal that the recent hostilities during and after the Doklam standoff are history, especially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week at Wuhan in China, Indian and Chinese militaries held a ceremonial border personnel meeting (BPM) at Ladakh’s Chusul on Tuesday while gifts were exchanged between the militaries at Wacha near Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh.

Interestingly, Chushul was the site of a fracas between the troops of the two countries on August 15 last year.

The meeting in Chusul on Tuesday started with the hoisting of the national flags of both the countries following which the delegations leaders addressed the gathering followed by exchange of greetings and hosting of cultural events.

Sources said the meeting focused on ways and means to defuse tension in the border as well issues related to management of the nearly 4,000 km long LAC. Five states —Arunachal Pradesh (1,126 km), Uttarakhand (345 km), Jammu and Kashmir (1,597 km), Himachal Pradesh (260 km) and Sikkim (198 km) — share the international border with China.

Several other measures including joint and coordinated patrolling as well as setting up of a telephonic hotline between the Indian Army's director general of military operations (DGMO) and his Chinese counterpart are understood to be actively being contemplated by the two Asian giants.

By no means unprecedented, such ceremonial BPMs on occasions like “International Labour Day” are marked by bonhomie where the need to maintain peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control is mutually underscored.

The BPM is a mechanism to defuse unwanted situations over frequent transgressions as the LAC is not clearly demarcated in many areas.

The two countries have five points for holding BPMs — Daulat Beg Oldie in northern Ladakh, Kibithu, Chusul, Bum-La near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and Nathu-La in Sikkim.

It is also noteworthy that in August-September, Indian and the Chinese militaries would participate in a joint exercise called “Peace Mission 2018” under the umbrella of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), at Chelyabinsk in west-central Russia. Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan will be the other participants.

Around the same time, the joint Indo-China military exercise Hand-in-Hand is also expected to take place.