India suspends defence exchanges with China

NEW DELHI - India has reportedly decided to suspend its defence exchanges with China as a reaction to the denial of visa to Lieutenant General BS Jaswal, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, on the ground that he controlled operations a disputed area, Jammu and Kashmir.

Reacting to reports of suspension, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson on Friday virtually admitted that a problem had arisen as far as the exchanges were concerned. .

The spokesperson said: “We have an important, multifaceted and complex relationship with Republic of China Our interaction has been growing in a number of areas, including defence. In recent years, we have had useful defence exchanges at various levels.”

Referring to the denial of visa to Lt. General Jaswal, he said: “The visit, referred to in a newspaper report today, has not taken place, due to certain reasons,” he said

“While we value our exchanges with China, there must be sensitivity to each others’ concerns. Our dialogue with China on these issues is ongoing,” he added.

As per reports, Lt General Jaswal, was nominated by the government to visit China as part of the regular high-level exchanges between the defence establishments of the two countries.

According to the report, two Chinese defence officials, scheduled to come to India for a course at the National Defence College have been denied permission by Delhi. Moreover, a subsequent visit by Indian military officials to China also stand cancelled. (ANI)