China and India will hold their first joint anti-terror military drill starting tomorrow - a sign of growing military exchanges and mutual trust between the two neighbors.
Codenamed "Hand-in-Hand, 2007", the military exercise will be held in Southwest China's Yunnan Province.
The weeklong drill will draw about 100 troops from each country, according to a brief statement from the foreign office of the Ministry of National Defense.
"The joint training is aimed at enhancing understanding and mutual trust between Chinese and Indian armies and strengthening their exchanges in the anti-terror areas," the statement said.
"It is also aimed at deterring the 'three evil forces' - separatists, extremists and terrorists - and promote the strategic partnership for peace and prosperity between China and India."
"It will definitely help strengthen the mutual trust between the two countries, and two militaries in particular, given that they have an episode of unpleasant history," said Sun Shihai, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
In addition to its symbolic significance, Sun said the joint training is also of solid "substance" because the two countries are sometimes victims of the "three evil forces".
Despite the small scale of the drill, Sun said it is a "good starter".
Swaran Singh, associate professor at the School of International Studies at New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: "Hopefully, this momentum will pick up in the coming years and China and India can be a model of military cooperation among Asian countries."
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Brendan is an Australian who has been involved in education and writing for over a decade. He has published most recently for the Tiger Airways Inflight magazine, The Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times and Japan's Hiroshima Outside Magazine. He holds a Masters Degree in Community Development and Management and has resided in China for over 3 years.
