India launched major military drills Monday, including along contestedborder areas with China, which will continue during the G20 summit in NewDelhi that President Xi Jinping will skip.
The 11 days of drills named “Trishul”, or trident, were “an annual trainingexercise” in northern zones bordering Pakistan and China, a defenceofficial told *AFP*, declining to be named as he was not authorised tospeak to the media.
India has been wary of its northern neighbour’s growing militaryassertiveness and their 3,500-kilometre (2,200-mile) shared frontier hasbeen a perennial source of friction.
Tensions flared again last week after a Chinese map claimed land thatIndian authorities say is theirs, including territory close to where theybattled in 2020.
Tens of thousands of soldiers have since been massed along both sides ofthe Line of Actual Control (LAC) that divides them.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s Xi held a rare face-to-facemeeting in South Africa last month.
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But China’s Premier Li Qiang will attend the G20 summit on September 9-10,a foreign ministry spokeswoman in Beijing said Monday.
Modi’s government has pumped billions of dollars into connectivity projectson its side of the border to boost civilian presence, and establish newparamilitary battalions.
India is also seeking to develop closer ties with Western countries,including fellow Quad members the United States, Japan and Australia, whichare also wooing New Delhi as an alternative to China. -APP/AFP
