Army personnel from India and China meet at Chushul-Moldo meeting point on Tuesday
In a clear sign of Indian and Chinese armies working to de-escalate tensions, family members of Indian Army personnel on Tuesday attended an event to mark Labour Day at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point, on the Chinese side.
A Special Border Personnel Meeting was also held on the occasion at the meeting point in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. The latest effort comes after the informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping last week in Wuhan.
According to sources in the army, ''Such meetings indicate the upward trend of relations between the two great nations and building of trust between the two armies deployed on the border."
"Troops and families of both armies were part of of the celebrations which were conducted in an atmosphere of bonhomie and friendship," an official was quoted by news agency IANS as saying.
Family members of Indian Army officials attended an event to mark Labour Day
Special cultural programmes were also organised by the two armies. The official said the two armies also exchanged gifts at Wacha border post in Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh.
The official said during the meeting the two sides discussed ways to bring down tension along the disputed borders. News agency PTI quoted sources as saying that both sides were also working on setting up a long-delayed hotline between the Indian Army's Director General of Military Operations or DGMO and the Chinese officer holding a similar position.
In the meeting at Wuhan, PM Modi and President Jinping decided to issue "strategic guidance" to the militaries to strengthen communication and build trust and understanding between the border guarding forces of the two countries.
The ties between the two countries had soured after a military stand-off that lasted for 73 days between the two armies at Doklam in Sikkim sector last year.
(With input from agencies)