The “Hand-in-Hand” 2018 China-India counter-terrorism exercise concluded in a great victory and success of December 22. The exercise which was focused on joint counter-terrorism abilities stated on December 10, followed by the arrival of the Indian army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The comradeship in-between the Chinese and Indian troops was evident as they’ve marked a continual improvement in relations.
The exercise took place at the China-India border in Chengdu, situated in southwest China’s Sichuan province near Tibet. It was aimed at familiarizing both the troops with an operating procedures under a command and also to bring them together in order to complete a counter-terrorism mission.
Senior representative of joint training from the PLA Kuang Dewang said, “But the routine training exercises are not conducted in response to any third party.”
Combined troops were then regrouped into two groups –A and B, to train them on individual programs such as shooting, climbing and crossing a river by rope, and comprehensive combat programs such as demolition, crossing obstacles and capturing captives, and unit training, especially in urban counter-terrorism scenarios.
The 14-day exercise was then concluded with a closing ceremony, where senior representatives of the Chinese army with major general Li Shizhong reviewed the former exercise and also granted certificates to both troops in honour and souvenirs for their participation.
At the closing ceremony, Li said: “This has been the 7th ‘hand-in-hand’ joint training since 2007, upgrading the communication between the two armies to a higher level. It demonstrates the firm determination, as well as the good will, of the two countries to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.”
The commander of company “A” Ren Zhengxiong said, “They deserve respect for their courage in cooperation. They were definitely brave enough to try things without flinching.”
Colonel Puneet Pratap Singh Tomar, the head of the Indian army, said, “Our infantry battalions have varied operational and training experience, which is surely considered for such selection.”
Tomar said: “Cultural events help in understanding each other’s ideas and core values in an informal environment. They act as a catalyst in happiness and friendship.”
Colonel leading the Chinese contingent Zhou Jun said: “The language barrier does not matter at all. Translators around the site helped a lot, but in real situations, soldiers must understand each other by gestures and eye contact. Sign language works better in real counter-terrorism practice.”
The experts said both the military are expected to promote the military cooperation at another higher level in future, with developing China-India relations.