Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenge will visit India by yearend for an official goodwill visit, following the recent BRICS Summit in South Africa wherein both China and India attended.
During a press conference, Defense Ministry Spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said that the visit will tackle diplomatic ties between neighboring countries China and India especially on issues concerning about border management. The visit was also brought by the invitation of Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In 2017, China and India almost came into a close blow at the Doklam Plateau which is near the borders of India, Bhutan, and China. Accordingly, it was the most serious and longest standoff in decades along the disputed Himalayan Border. Hundreds of military troops from both sides were deployed after India opposed to China's construction of a road along the Himalayan area. Troops of the respective countries subsequently withdrew from the area.
After the incident, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had series of meetings in April to discuss the border issues and to mend ties between the two countries.
Despite these engagements to mend ties, these two countries are still allegedly suspicious of each other.
Aside from border issues, the countries are also competing over influence over other nations wherein India has been originally close with. These countries include the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Defense Ministry Spokesperson Ren said that both countries are now in constant coordination about Wei's visit to India this year.
Meanwhile, Defense Ministry Spokesperson Ren added that China's Western Military Region Deputy Commander Major General Liu Xiaowu had also visited India on July 2-6, 2018 for various meetings with military counterparts in India.
Among the things discussed during the meetings among military leaders of both countries are on strengthening border risk management and control. They also tackled joint military exercises and tactical training as well as enhancing cultural and sports exchanges. Both sides have also reached consensus on implementing measures to safeguard peace and stability in the disputed border areas in the Himalayan.
China and India's conflict over border control in the Himalayan area has been a problem since time immemorial. Such a dispute triggered a short war between China and India in 1962. Despite current diplomatic ties and cordial engagements, some political analysts believe that there is still deep mistrust between the neighbors because of this border concern.
