India, China plan joint army exercise next month

Signalling a thaw in military relations, India and China are all set to hold their next joint army exercise in December.

While the dates for the 15-day exercise, the first on Indian soil, are yet to be decided, army officers said the army's commando training school at Belgaum in Karnataka is likely to be the venue.

The exercise comes a year after the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army conducted their maiden military counter-terrorism exercise on Chinese soil in December 2007 at Kunming. About 100 troops from each side took part.