India, China joint anti-terror training ends 'Hand in Hand'

Beijing, Nov 13: Chinese and Indian armies ended their nine-day joint anti-terrorism training session with a live fire drill Wednesday in southwest China's Sichuan province.

Codenamed 'Hand-in-Hand 2013', the joint training session included demonstration of weapons, tactics and training in arrest of suspects and rescue of hostages, Xinhua reported.

The joint training has expanded fields for military exchanges and cooperation between China and India, said Zhou Xiaozhou, chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chengdu Military Area Command.

It also demonstrated the goodwill and determination of the two nations in jointly safeguarding regional peace and stability and creating a harmonious development environment for both sides, Zhou said.

The joint training session was launched Nov 5 in the Sichuan city of Emeishan, with each side sending one company of 144 soldiers.

It was the third joint military exercise between China and India.

The two countries conducted their first joint anti-terror training in southwest China's Yunnan Province in 2007 after which another exercise was carried out at Belgaum in the south Indian state of Karnataka in 2008.

IANS