Chinese, Indian defence ministers meeting



Full text of joint statement by Chinese, Indian defence ministers



BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A joint statement by Chinese and Indian defence ministers 
issued on Saturday. The full text is as follows:

Joint Statement

1. The Indian Minister of Defence, Mr. A. K. Antony, paid an official visit to China from 4-7 
July, 2013 at the invitation of the Chinese Defence Minister, Gen. Chang Wanquan. He held 
talks with his counterpart, Gen. Chang Wanquan. The Indian Defence Minister also called 
on Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, and had a meeting with State Councilor Yang Jiechi.

2. The two Defence Ministers held talks in a cordial and friendly atmosphere and had an 
extensive exchange of views on a wide range of defence and security issues. They 
reaffirmed that defence exchanges were an important facet of the India-China strategic and 
cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity.

3. Noting that peace and tranquility in their border areas was an important guarantor for the 
growth and development of bilateral cooperation, the Ministers emphasized the importance 
of enhancing mutual trust and understanding between the two militaries. They reviewed the 
working of agreements and protocols dealing with the maintenance of peace and tranquility 
and directed that it be further strengthened. Appreciating that border defence cooperation 
would make a significant contribution in that regard, they agreed on an early conclusion of 
negotiations for a proposed agreement on border defence cooperation between the two 
Governments.

4. The Ministers discussed ongoing and proposed bilateral exchanges and welcomed the 
holding of the counter-terrorism bilateral joint exercise between their armies in China in 
2013. They also agreed on the following additional exchanges and visits between India and 
China:

1) Senior military commanders from service headquarters, command/military region and 
field formations will exchange visits regularly on a mutually agreed annual schedule.

2) Visits of border troop delegations would be enhanced to promote dialogue and strengthen 
trust and cooperation.

3) Border personnel meetings (BPM) will take place with greater frequency and additional 
locations will be finalized after discussion.

4) The Navies will increase ship visits, consider conducting joint maritime search and rescue 
exercises and cooperate in counter-piracy operations. The call by PLA Navy hospital ship 
'Peace Ark' to Mumbai in August 2013 was welcomed.

5) The Air Forces will carry out high level visits and expand their functional exchanges. 
They would focus on topics of mutual interest including flight safety, aviation medicine and 
training.

6) Military training institutions will also strengthen their exchanges at the faculty and student 
levels.

7) To promote greater awareness and understanding among young officers of the armed 
forces, visits and exchanges will be carried out annually.

5. Defence Minister Antony invited his Chinese counterpart Gen. Chang Wanquan to visit 
India in 2014 as convenient. The Chinese Defence Minister accepted the invitation.

6. Minister Antony expressed appreciation for the warm hospitality extended by the Minister 
of Defence of the People's Republic of China to him and his high level delegation during the 
visit.

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---  from : jure ellero <glry at ngi.it> 
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