India and China agreed to resume joint military exercises during a visit by the Chinese defense minister to New Delhi, a sign that the tensions of the last few years between the two countries’ military establishments may be lessening, Financial Times reported. General Liang Guanglie’s visit with his Indian counterpart, A.K. Antony, was the first trip by a Chinese defense minister to India in eight years. The countries agreed to strengthen cooperation on anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, conduct joint search-and-rescue exercises at sea and promote mutual port calls by navy vessels, as well as conduct joint military exercises “at the earliest.” Relations between the two Asian giants have soured in recent years, due to a disputes over their long shared border, the passage of military vessels through the South China Sea and China’s influence in South Asian nations including Pakistan.
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