Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 1

In an unexplained move, China has backed off from hosting the annual ceremonial border personnel meeting (BPM) with India.The meeting is conducted on October 1 to mark China’s “annual day”, the anniversary of the formation of People’s Republic of China. It was to be hosted by the People’s Liberation Army at five designated BPM points across the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control , the de facto boundary between the two countries along the Himalayan ridgeline.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Beijing’s move comes four weeks after the two neighbours ended their 73-day military standoff at Doklam. This is contrary to Chinese Ambassador Luo Zhaohui’s statement yesterday that the time was right for both countries to “turn a new chapter” and “dance together”. In an indirect reference to the Doklam standoff, Ambassador Zhaohui had called for renewing India-China ties, saying both “India and China should make one-plus-one eleven”. Notably, the May 2015 joint statement issued after a meeting between PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping spoke of increased military interaction. It said: “The two sides will carry out annual visits and exchanges between the two military headquarters and neighbouring military commands, expand exchanges between border commanders and establish border personnel meeting points in all sectors along the India-China border.”

New road near ArunachalBeijing: China on Sunday opened a 409-km new expressway costing about USD 5.8 billion linking Tibet’s provincial capital Lhasa with Nyingchi, which is close to the Arunachal Pradesh border. The toll-free expressway links the two major cities that are also tourist attractions in Tibet, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The expressway cuts Lhasa-Nyingchi travel time from eight to five hours at a speed limit of 80 km per hour.Ambala base to be Rafale-readyThe Indian Air Force has initiated major infrastructure upgrade at its frontline base in Ambala for deployment of the first squadron of the Rafale jets, which will give India greater “potency” over Pakistan as these will be capable of carrying N-weapons and other missiles. The IAF is also carrying out infrastructure upgrade at its Hasimara base in West Bengal, which will house the second squadron of the Rafale jets.