Antony to visit China later this month

India and China will hold discussions on a proposed border pact between the two sides to avoid any flare ups between the two armies during Defence Minister A K Antony's visit to Beijing later this month.
The minister will visit China in the last week of June and will hold discussions on the proposed border pact and ways to avoid situations such as the recent stand-off between the two armies in Daulat Beg Oldi sector in April, ministry officials said here.
The Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) was formally proposed by the Chinese side during the Defence Secretary-level talks between the two countries in March but India had decided to go slow on the proposals and sought time to consider them.

There were certain proposals over which the Indian side had reservations and that is why, it has proposed certain changes and that has been given back to the Chinese side for consideration, they said.
It is learnt that one of the Chinese proposals pertained to going for a freeze on infrastructure development along the LAC but the Indian side rejected it as New Delhi is in the process of upgrading its military infrastructure in the northeast and northern sector.
Under the BDCA, China has proposed expansion of friendly contacts and more communication between the troops of the two sides on the ground which will help avoid any misunderstanding or flare-up along the LAC.

The proposal also has a clause which suggests that troops of either side will not fire at each other under each other under any condition, they said.
The two sides are also expected to take up the issue of bilateral exercise between the two armies, which are expected to be held in September-October timeframe in China.
The Indian side is also expected to push for the establishment of a hotline between the Director Generals of Military Operations to discuss any issue between the two forces on border.