Click to play videoNew Delhi: It's being seen as the most visible Confidence Building Measure between India and China since the 1962 War. Beginning Friday, when some 200 soldiers from the two sides team up for a counter-terrorist drill at Kunming in the Yunan province of China, a lot of baggage could be shed.
It will be a signal that the Asian rivals are now prepared to explore the possibility of walking Hand-in-Hand, which is also the codename for the exercise.
"Talking to each other is important so that you know the other guy doesn’t mean harm,” says Military Analyst, Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal.
But while it's a significant step towards building confidence, it's not a leap big enough to overcome the suspicion piled up over decades.
"Exercising with the Chinese is important to show to them that we are a professional army. We’ve left behind the scares of 1962 conflict and should there be a conflict in future, they’d face a tough task,” says Kanwal.
And though the scars of 1962 have healed, India still has grave suspicions about China. George Fernandes' famous “Enemy No. 1” remark only reflected the way India's strategic establishment sees China: It is a bigger long-term challenge than “public villain No. 1”, Pakistan.
(China) does not want strong India. There’s a Chinese saying that a mountain can be home to only one tiger,” says Kanwal.
The lingering dispute over the 4,060-km boundary ensures that the threat from China lives on. But analysts reckon when soldiers get talking, the possibility of border conflict decreases.
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