India, China begin joint military exercise "Hand in Hand-2015"

India and China began their fifth joint exercise, "Hand in Hand-2015", which lays emphasis on joint handling of counter terrorism and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, at the Kunming Military Academy in the Yunnan province of China yesterday.

The opening ceremony commenced with a parade by both  contingents, followed by national anthem of both countries. 

The combined parade was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ruchir Pant of Indian Army. 

A Weapon and Equipment Display was organized to familiarize with each other's weapon systems at sub-unit level. This was followed by a demonstration of skills  by the Indian  contingent, which  enthralled the audience  with a spectacular display of Yoga training,  energetic tribal dances of Nagaland and unarmed combat skills.  

The Chinese contingent displayed combat shooting and obstacle negotiation skills within the Military Academy premises.

Lt Gen Zhou Xiaozhou,  head of the Chinese Observer Delegation, stated that the joint exercise would play an important role in deepening mutual cooperation and forging a closer development partnership. He said that the exercise would expand the scope of military interaction, facilitate exchange of best practices in counter terrorism operations, enhance mutual understanding and trust and further promote friendly relationship between both militaries.

Indian Ambassador to China Ashok Kantha emphasized the need to tackle terrorism jointly and stressed the importance of expanding defence cooperation at all levels.

Lt Gen Surinder Singh, head of the Indian Observer Delegation, expressed confidence that the exercise would become a landmark in the history of bilateral relations of both countries.

An official press release said the exercise would help develop  mutual understanding and respect for each other’s military as also facilitate in tackling terrorism.     

NNN