SP's LandForces

Getting Familiar

The Embassy of China at New Delhi recently organised a visit of an Indian media delegation to China for interactio­ns at Beijing with the 4th Army Aviation Regiment, China Institute of Internatio­nal Studies (CIIS), All-China Journalist­s Associatio­n (ACJA),

- Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd)

The Embassy of China at New Delhi recently organised a visit of an Indian media delegation to China for interactio­ns at Beijing with the 4th Army Aviation Regiment

THE EMBASSY OF CHINA at New Delhi, recently organised visit of an Indian press delegation to China for interactio­ns at Beijing with the 4th Army Aviation Regiment, China Institute of Internatio­nal Studies (CIIS), All-China Journalist­s Associatio­n (ACJA), Tencent (qq.com), Ministry of National Defense (MND), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), China Daily, and Shanghai Naval Garrison.

The familiaris­ation visit gave an overview of what is happening in China. The stops included the 4th Army Aviation Regiment. The delegation was met and briefed by Senior Colonel Zhang Jillin, Commander of the Regiment. Their equipment includes attack helicopter­s, medium-lift helicopter­s (Mi-17 equivalent) and fixed-wing aircraft (C-130 equivalent). The tasks include attack, air support and tasks like rescue missions and locating space capsules returning to earth. Tasks are all land based, as naval aviation units cover operations at sea. The regiment is maintained at high state of readiness. Pilots undergo a fouryear course from basic level to combat level.

China Institute of Strategic Studies

CIIS is the primary think tank of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and it also trains Chinese diplomats. The briefing was done by Jia Xiudong, Senior Research Fel- low, mainly hinging on the overwhelmi­ng desire for peace by China, maintainin­g friendly relations with all neighbours and bright prospects of India-China relations. Lan Jianxue, Associate Research Fellow who has visited India many times, spoke at length about India-China relations high- lighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s achievemen­ts. The discussion­s centred around: China’s concern about the situation in Iraq-Syria and about possible fallout in Af-Pak region. China wants peace in Afghanista­n and looks to Afghanista­n’s economic upliftment In its relationsh­ip with India, Panchsheel is being forged as the mainstay. China has resolved its borders with all neighbours less India and Bhutan but China will never use force to do so unless attacked. The situation in Asia-Pacific is fluid but China does not have any desire for use of force. China and US have over 90 bilateral dialogues covering every conceivabl­e issue and the economic interdepen­dence is intense. Logically, this should deter conflict. To explore scope of India-China cooperatio­n for evacuation of respective nationals from trouble spots like Iraq, government-to-government dialogue is required. Pakistan herself is a victim of terror though China has always advised Pakistan to be careful about radicalisa­tion and terrorism.

Tencent (qq.com)

Establishe­d in 1998, Tencent is a top level internet company of China. It offers the equivalent of Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Microchat, Wizard, Google, Gaming, etc and claims on improvemen­t over Twitter. They also have V-chat which is

 ??  ?? The writer (on the extreme right) during
the visit at Great Wall of China
The writer (on the extreme right) during the visit at Great Wall of China

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