India, China to set up hotline between army HQs

The omnibus communiqué, which emerged after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People on Friday said a hotline between the two Army Headquarters would be established and additional points along the frontiers would be opened to enable local border commanders to hold crisis-management meetings.

Annual exchange visits between the two military headquarters and neighbouring military commands would continue. During talks, Mr. Modi “reiterated the importance of clarification of Line of Actual Control (LAC)”. The Prime Minister said the Chinese leadership was “responsive,” when he suggested that “China should take a strategic and long term view of our relations”.

Without directly to referring to Pakistan — a country with which China has a special relationship — Mr. Modi said the two leaderships decided “to enhance strategic communication and coordination on our region.”

Indian officials clarified that China’s differences with neighbours in the South China Sea were not discussed — a position that is bound to draw the attention in some countries of the ASEAN bloc and Japan.

The joint statement made it amply clear that outer space and nuclear energy are emerging as new areas for collaboration in the future. A Space Cooperation Mechanism had been established, which would steer a five year “outline” for partnership, which would also cover lunar and deep space exploration, between the Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO) and the China National Space Administration.

Nuclear energy The two sides would engage in peaceful use of nuclear energy — a decision that led to a conversation on China’s stance towards India within the ambit of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) during the talks.