India-China hold day-long army exercise in Ladakh

NEW DELHI: In a first, India and China carried out a joint army exercise in eastern Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, a move that comes amid hectic diplomatic manoeuvring between the two countries over a host of issues such as Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and designation of Masood Azhar as a terrorist by the UN.

During the day-long exercise on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR), a fictitious situation of an earthquake striking an Indian border village was created. Thereafter, joint teams carried out rescue operations, evacuation and rendering of medical assistance.

This was done as a sequel to the first joint exercise held on February 6 in the area of Border Personnel Meeting Hut at Chushul Garrison of Eastern Ladakh, along with Chinese troops of Moldo Garrison.

The Indian team for the exercise was led by Brigadier RS Raman while Sr Col Fan Jun led the Chinese.

The exercise was a great success and has not only refined the drills to provide succour to the border population in case of natural calamity, but has also increased the level of trust and cooperation between the two border guarding forces along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, the army said in a statement.