M A I N   N E W S

Indian, Chinese troops to walk ‘Hand in Hand’
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 4
For the first time India and China will conduct a joint army exercise on the Indian soil. A 137-member strong Chinese army contingent arrived in their service aircraft at Pune this morning to take part in the drill, which begins this weekend.

The Chinese army personnel and equipment were transported by six IAF aircraft to Belgaum, the venue of the exercise that has been named as “Hand-in-Hand 2008”. This joint training exercise is the second in the series, the previous one having been conducted in Kunming (China) last year.

The event aims at expanding and strengthening military-to-military ties between the two armed forces. During the course of joint training, the Chinese troops from the 1st company of infantry battalion of Chengdu military area and the Indian Army troops from 8 Maratha Light infantry battalion will participate. They will undergo joint tactical manoeuvre and drills, interoperability training; joint command post procedures, finally culminating in a joint counter-terrorist operational exercise with simulated enemy.

Mumbai: ‘India, Pak must team up’

Beijing, December 4
China today urged Pakistan and India to work together to address the fallout from last week’s deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

“Pakistan and India are both good neighbours of China,” foreign ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao told reporters. “We sincerely hope that India and Pakistan will step up cooperation and dialogue and jointly safeguard peace and stability in East Asia that is in the interest of both countries and the region.”

During a press briefing, Liu had been asked about the potential for heightened tension between Pakistan and India in the wake of the attacks.

The attacks by a group of gunmen killed 188 persons and rattled ties between the nuclear armed South Asian nations. — AFP