Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1937093/china-india-close-setting-military-hotline-says-state
China/ Diplomacy

China, India close to setting up military hotline, says state media

Two Asian giants fought war over lingering border dispute in 1962

A file picture of Indian and Chinese troops taking part in a training exercise. Photo: Xinhua

China and India are moving towards setting up a military hotline, Chinese state media reported, with a border dispute and tensions over terrorism sanctions still lingering over relations between the Asian giants.

China “reacted positively” to the idea of setting up a hotline, the state-run Xinhua news agency cited Defence Minister Chang Wanquan as saying on Monday during talks with his Indian counterpart.

The world’s two most populous nations are jockeying for regional influence in Asia and their relationship is coloured by territorial disputes at both ends of the Himalayas.

They fought a border war over the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in 1962, parts of which Beijing claims as “South Tibet”.

Tensions rose in 2014 when hundreds of Chinese troops allegedly moved into mountainous areas of Ladakh under Indian control as China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in India on a landmark visit.

Xinhua cited Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as saying India “hopes to beef up bilateral exchanges and cooperation [with China] in all sectors”.

Parrikar repeated a call for clear demarcation of the Line of Actual Control between the two countries, the Indian news agency PTI reported.

But it added that Beijing expressed reservations over such a move which was proposed last year when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China.

India reacted angrily earlier this month after China blocked its request to add Masood Azhar, head of the Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, to a UN sanctions blacklist.

China enjoys close relations with India’s arch-rival Pakistan and is pursuing a multibillion-dollar slew of infrastructure projects there.

In a bid to gain Chinese investment, Islamabad said in January it was considering upgrading the constitutional status of a northern region which is also claimed by India.

PTI reported that Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj asked Beijing on Monday to review its position on Azhar, who is accused of masterminding an attack on the Pathankot airbase in the northern state of Punjab.