Indian, Chinese armies hold joint tactical exercise in Ladakh

The Indian and Chinese armies have held their first joint tactical exercise in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior defence official said on Sunday.

"The first joint tactical exercise between the border troops of both the countries was conducted in the Chushul-Moldo area on Saturday," Colonel S.D. Goswami, spokesman of the army's Udhampur-headquartered Northern Command, told IANS here.

It was part of the ongoing initiatives to ensure greater interaction between the two countries' troops stationed along the Line of Actual Control and thereby ensure peace and tranquility on the border.

"As previously agreed by both countries, the exercise focused on actions to be coordinated to jointly tackle aspects of humanitarian aid and disaster relief," Col. Goswami added.

The Indian team of 30 personnel was led by Colonel Ritesh Chandra Singh while the Chinese side was led by Colonel Qu Yi.

"Lasting the entire day, the joint exercise was based on a situation of a national disaster occurring on the border and the subsequent coordination of rescue mission by joint teams of both the countries.," he said.

"The joint exercise, codenamed 'Sino-India Cooperation 2016', compliments the hand-in-hand series of the India-China joint exercises and the recently conducted border troops Joint Exercise in Sikkim."

The spokesperson said: "The increased interaction among Indian and Chinese border troops is a very positive step in enhancing confidence-building relations between the two armies."