However, the size of the Indian delegation has been cut by half.
In what appears to be a diplomatic shift aimed at keeping alive its engagement with China, India has decided to send a truncated defence delegation to China, and without IAF Captain Mohonto Panging from Arunachal Pradesh who has reportedly been denied visa by China.
The decision to keep the scheduled visit that begins Jan 10 comes a day after defence sources said it had been called off because the Chinese embassy here refused a visa to Captain Panging, without specifying any reasons.
In 2010, India cancelled its defence engagements with China after the latter denied visa to Lt Gen BS Jaswal on grounds that he belonged to the “disputed” region of Jammu and Kashmir. China lays its claim on entire Arunachal Pradesh, which India considers as its sovereign territory.
In November, last year, special representative (SR) talks had to be cancelled after China demanded that India cancel Dalai Lama’s discourse at a Buddhist congregation in New Delhi that was happening at the same time.
The two sides, however, renewed their engagement over the Annual Defence Dialogue (ADD) in December, 2011, with reports that the cancelled SR Talks are also being rescheduled for 2012. During ADD, the two sides decided to continue with military exchanges and gradually increase level of interaction.
Defence sources Saturday confirmed that delegation’s visit to Beijing will happen “as per schedule”. “A 15 member team will begin their visit on January 10,” an official source said. The delegation will include four officers each from army, air force, navy and the Integrated Defence Staff. Sources also confirmed that Group Captain M Panging, an IAF Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter pilot, “will not be going with the delegation.” Panging is posted at the Tezpur base in the eastern sector, in Assam.
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