Chinese military delegation to visit India
In order to bolster confidence building measures (CBMs) along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control, a high-level Chinese military commission will be coming to India to discuss such issues. The delegation will be led by General Fan Changlong, vice-chairman of Central Military Commission (highest-ranking Chinese general) and will be in India from 15 to 17 November. There will be 26 members on the delegation.
India-China sign Defence Cooperation Agreement
On 23 October 2013, India and China inked nine agreements/ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which included the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA). The primary goal of the BDCA was to prevent border face-offs and army tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The 2 nations decided to not use military capability to strike the other side nor send armies along the Indo-Sino border.
India-China border
The McMahon Line, which India considers as the official border with China, was a part of the 1914 Simla Convention between British India and Tibet, an agreement rejected by China.
Ajit Doval appointed as special-envoy for China talks
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had been named as a special envoy to resume talks on the disputed border with China. He was tp negotiate with the Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi. China claims more than 90,000 sq km (35,000 sq miles) area in the eastern sector of the Himalayas, most of which covers the state of Arunachal, as its own.
Indo-China border talks kick off in Delhi
The 18th round of border talks between China and India kicked off in Delhi – the first round of negotiations after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. The talks were a follow up to Xi Jinping's India visit in September last year. India was pushing to include the discussion on Aksai Chin area, annexed by China in 1962 war, in the talks.
Sino-Indian military officials hold meetings at border
Chinese and Indian military officials held a Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) in which the 2 nations committed themselves towards "enhancing the existing cordial relations, and maintaining peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control". The BPM was hosted by China opposite Bum La in Arunachal Pradesh. Each side sought to "build on the mutual feeling to uphold the treaties and agreements".
India's cause for being alarmed
India remains anxious about China's advancing modernization of its traditional and "nuclear forces, space and cyber warfare" capacities at a searing pace. The growing forays by "Chinese diesel-electric as well as nuclear submarines" in the Indian Ocean have further bolstered the concern in India of being strategically surrounded. Moreover, China spends an annual $130 billion on its defence budget with 260 nuclear warheads.
Reaffirmation of ties between Beijing and Islamabad
The Chinese delegation headed to India will be coming to the Indian heartland via Pakistan, confirming China's strategic ties with Pakistan.
