Calcutta: A People's Liberation Army delegation arrived at Sukna near Siliguri on Tuesday to interact with their counterparts at HQ 33 Corps for the first time since Chinese and Indian troops had faced off at Doklam last year.
Sources in the Eastern Command said the visit by the delegation led by Lieutenant General Liu Xiaowu, deputy commander of the Western Theater Command, was a key step towards increasing interactions at the level of military commanders between the neighbours.
"This is a significant step towards maintaining peace and tranquillity on the borders," a senior officer in the Eastern Command said.
The Indian delegation will be led by Lt Gen. Pradeep M. Bali, GOC Trishakti Corps. The PLA delegation is scheduled to reach Calcutta on July 5 for talks with the general officer commanding-in-chief of the Eastern Command, Lt Gen. Abhay Krishna.
Doklam has remained a contentious issue for the Eastern Command since Indian and Chinese troops had locked in a 73-day eyeball-to-eyeball standoff in June 2017.
China and Bhutan both claim the disputed area located near their tri-junction with India. Delhi backs Thimphu's claims.
The 10-member PLA team's trip is the first high-level visit from the Western Theater Command since the Wuhan summit in April between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The two leaders had then resolved to give specific instructions to the two militaries to build trust and enhance "predictability and effectiveness" in managing the contentious border.
New Delhi has been keen to re-connect with China's military amid efforts by the Eastern Command to strengthen its road-building activities on a difficult terrain.
Soon after the stand off, troops of the Sukna-based 33 Corps had reportedly been moved to the China border in Sikkim in what was believed to be "strategic posturing".
In December, at a wreath-laying ceremony on "Vijay Diwas" to commemorate India's victory over Pakistan in 1971, Lt Gen. Krishna had said the army was fully prepared. "Let anybody do any mischief and he will get it back nice and proper," Krishna had said.
The Chinese delegation had earlier reached New Delhi on Monday after visiting Islamabad to hold talks with Pakistan's military bosses.
"We hope the interaction of the Chinese delegation with the Eastern Command bosses turn out to be productive," said a senior army officer overseeing the visit.
