BEIJING, Dec 26 - China�s People�s Liberation Army (PLA) said on Thursday that its ties with the Indian military are �improving� with the strategic dialogue, practical cooperation and exchanges, �thanks� to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.
Providing an upbeat picture of the relations between the two militaries, which shared arduous and at times testing ties guarding the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC), Defence spokesman Col Wu Qian said the just concluded joint counter terrorism drills in India �showed the determination� of the two sides to protect the regional stability besides fighting terrorism.
�For the China-India relations, military relationship is the important component of the overall relationship,� Col Wu told a media briefing here responding to questions on how the PLA views the relations with its Indian counterpart this year. �Thanks to the efforts of the two heads of the state, the military relationship is improving,� he said.
The military ties constituted important component of the two informal summits - Wuhan in 2018 and Chennai this year - between Prime Minister Modi and President Xi especially after the 73-day standoff at Doklam in 2017.
�We should carefully handle issues concerning each other�s core interests. We should properly manage and control problems that cannot be solved for the time being,� Xi said after his summit meeting with Modi in Chennai.
He also said both the countries should improve the level of military and security exchanges and cooperation. � PTI
