By NNN-PTI
Kunming (China) : In an atmosphere tinged with the “Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai” spirit, Indian troops arrived here Wednesday to a warm welcome by the Chinese hosts for the first-ever Sino-Indian joint military exercise in a hilly terrain near here in South western Yunnan province.
It was bonhomie all through after the Indian Air Force (IAF)’s special transport aircraft IL-76 touched down at the airport with Chinese military officials receiving their Indian counterparts and troops drawn from the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry with cordiality and warmth.
As the men from both militaries exchanged pleasantries and were introduced to one another, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army played the band followed by a ceremonial welcome later at the Kuniming Military Academy where the 103 Indian soldiers will stay.
The joint exercise will begin on Dec 21 with the spotlight on anti-terrorism drill, with China expected to draw upon the experience of Indian troops known for expertise gained in their counter-insurgency operations.
Largely mountainous Yunnan province on China’s southwest frontier shares its border with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.
The troops, who arrived from Guwahati after a little more than two hours flight, will familiarise themselves with the terrain Thursday before they plunge into the full-scale drill lasting five days.
The joint exercise, which comes after signs of warming of ties in recent years between the two Asian giants, was scheduled to happen much earlier but the dates were finalised in Beijing during the first ever Annual Defence Dialogue between the two nations recently.