A first: Chinese, Indian troops meet for disaster mgmt drill

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 7

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, often in news for standoff between Indian and Chinese soldiers, saw the first-ever joint tactical exercise between the two armies to tackle natural disasters.

The day-long humanitarian relief exercise conducted in sub-zero temperature in the remote Chushul-Moldo area of Jammu and Kashmir saw soldiers jointly conducting rescue missions, casualty evacuation and providing humanitarian aid in a situation of calamity striking areas close to the LAC.

At the height of 4,360 m, Chushul is prone to cold and snow-related disasters. The exercise assumes significance in the backdrop of recent avalanche in Siachen. Soldiers guard remote outposts in the area and several small nomadic settlements are present on both sides of the LAC.

The Indian team of 30 Army personnel was led by Colonel Ritesh Chandra Singh, while the Chinese team was led by Colonel Qu Yi.

Chushul is one of the four officially agreed BPM (border personnel meeting) points for regular interaction between the two armies to defuse tension.

“The joint exercise was based on a situation of a national disaster occurring on the border and the subsequent coordination for a rescue mission by joint teams of both countries. As previously agreed, the exercise focused on actions to be coordinated to provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief,” said a defence spokesperson.

India shares 3,488-km de facto border with China and is divided into three sectors—western sector (between Ladakh and Aksai Chin plateau); central sector (between Uttarakhand and Tibet) and the eastern sector (covering Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh). Jammu and Kashmir has seen frequent transgressions over the past few years.

The joint exercise, Sino-India Cooperation 2016, complements the Hand-in-Hand series of India-China joint exercises and the recently conducted border troops’ joint exercise in Sikkim.