China:Nuclear rivals India and China began week-long joint military exercise yesterday, the first between the world's two largest armies, 45 years after fighting a bitter border war over a boundary dispute that still remains unresolved.
The "Hand-in-Hand 2007'"anti-terrorism manoeuvres in China's southern Chengdu military region involves some 100 Special Forces troops from either side, besides featuring helicopter gun-ships, tanks and unmanned aerial vehicles provided by the People's Liberation Army.
"The exercises are aimed at building and promoting positive military relations, inter-operability and to undertake joint counter-insurgency operations" Brigadier SK Chatterjee of the Indian army's public information directorate said in New Delhi yesterday.
The two sides plan on making the exercise an annual affair, with the next round expected to be held in India late next year.
Officials said both air forces that operate former Soviet and Russian combat aircraft will also share expertise on flight safety issues at a later date.
So far, the Indian and Chinese navies have conducted two rounds of day-long manoeuvres in 2003 and more recently on April 16th, besides permitting each others observers at military exercises.
The respective armies deployed along the disputed 4,057km (2,521 miles) boundary also conduct cultural and sports events. Both sides also plan on bolstering military co-operation through joint manoeuvres and reciprocal visits by senior service officers to each others military establishments.
But the unresolved frontier dispute, one of the world's longest running territorial rows continues to sour relations between the two sides.
This is despite continuing negotiations, an upswing in bilateral diplomatic, political and economic ties and with annual trade hovering around $24 billion.
India claims that China illegally occupies 36,000sq km (13,900sq miles) of its territory, an assertion Beijing denies.
In turn, China claims an additional 90,000sq km (34,750sq miles) encompassing India's northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state whose status India says is "non-negotiable".
China's territorial demands continually resurface and earlier this year led to diplomatic friction between the neighbours after Beijing denied a visa to an Indian civil servant scheduled to visit the city along with fellow officers as part of a large study group.