At top-level defense talks in Beijing on Tuesday, China and India announced the resumption of their "Hand in Hand" military training exercises in 2011, the first positive news in China-India relations in several months.

The 2009 Hand in Hand exercises, which were to be held in China at the end of the year, were canceled in September, after which it was announced that there would be no joint exercises in 2010 either.

The first Hand in Hand exercises were held over several days in the mountains surrounding Kunming in 2007 and consisted primarily of anti-terror drills. In 2008 the exercises took place in Belgaum, India.

For observers concerned about the recent deterioration of China-India ties, the announcement that Hand in Hand exercises will resume next year in China offers hope that the wary neighbors can improve diplomatic relations. The announcement was made at this year's Annual Defense Dialogue (ADD), which was held on January 7 and 8 in Beijing.

In addition to restarting military training exercises, the two countries also announced that they will begin establishing an information sharing platform for counter-terrorism and anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden, according to Indian media reports.

This year's ADD marked the highest-level discussions to date, with Indian defense secretary Pradeep Kumar visiting Beijing to meet with PLA Deputy Chief of General Staff Ma Xiaotian. This is the first time that an Indian defense secretary has taken part in the ADD talks.

September's suspension of Hand in Hand followed India's announcement that it would not rebuild its section of the Stilwell Road linking Kunming with Ledo in northeast India's Assam State via northern Burma. The shelving of the Stilwell Road's revival came amid growing tensions over the two neighbors' border, many portions of which have still not been demarcated.

Before 2009's worsening of relations, China and India had been increasing tourism and education exchanges, after having launched direct flights between Kunming and Kolkata.

Image: Eastday.com

The most significant confidence-building exercise between neighbors China and India – the annual joint military training operation known as 'Hand in Hand' which was to be held in China later this year – will not take place, suggesting that while economic exchanges between the two countries continue to grow, the political relationship could continue to lag in the short term.

"We have not held any meetings to plan out the drill," a senior Indian army officer involved in the exercises told the Kolkata-based Telegraph. "It is unlikely that there will be an episode of the exercise this year when our soldiers would have been expected to visit China since they were here last year."

The first 'Hand in Hand' exercise between the two countries' armies was held in 2007 with the Indian army's 15 Jammu and Kashmir Light infantry joining Chinese counterparts for eight days of war games as well as drinking and dancing in the mountains outside of Kunming.

Last year, a 130-strong contingent from the People's Liberation Army conducted drills with the 8 Maratha Light Infantry in Belgaum, a city in southwest India's Karnataka state.

The reason for the early demise of the confidence-building exercises between the militaries of the world's two most populous countries – which went to war in 1962 – is not fully clear.

Complaints by a senior Indian military official to the Telegraph about the high costs of the exercise hint that maybe there was not enough mutual interest in continuing Hand in Hand to justify the expenditures involved. But it is also possible that a recent cooling in the political relationship between China and India is a factor.

China is India's largest trading partner and India one of China's larger trading partners – bilateral trade between the two reached a new high of US$51 billion last year – but the 3,500 kilometer border separating the two rapidly growing economies has yet to be fully demarcated.

This year there have also been several reports, some confirmed and some unconfirmed, of recent border tensions. Earlier this month Indian general Deepak Kapoor announced that China had been active in areas claimed by India, with a Chinese helicopter landing in disputed territory. India's national government has played down the border issue and has aggressively refuted Indian media reports that shots were exchanged over the border in July.

In August of this year, much to the chagrin of politicians in India's ethnically diverse northeast, New Delhi decided to scrap its plans to rebuild the Indian section of the Stilwell Road, a World War II supply route connecting Assam state with Kunming via northern Myanmar. Some Indian politicians viewed the renovated road as the most viable option for injecting dynamism into the laggard economy of the country's northeast.

For some Kunming businesspeople, political and military tensions need not get in the way of expanding China-India business ties. Guo Hongbo, leader of a 12-member trade delegation from Kunming visiting Kolkata, Bangalore and New Delhi last week, told Express India while in Kolkata that business was the only thing on the delegation's mind.


Despite a large Chinese population in Kolkata and the Indian city's only direct air link to China being direct flights to Kunming, Guo's delegation was unable to meet with any high-ranking officials from the government of West Bengal, of which Kolkata is the capital. The same delegation also had a lukewarm reception in Bangalore, where it was attempting to attract Indian IT investment in Kunming.

The Atlantic's "China hand" James Fallows links to his piece about an American couple's part in the "really authentic and classy" development of Xizhou, a historic town on the shores of Er'hai near Dali.

Global Digital Times points us to a Southern Weekend editorial that praises a "bold" change in media policy in Yunnan. You won't be hearing about "people who don't know the truth" for a while. Requires proxy.

And for one more thing Yunnan-related, head over to NeochaEdge (the place to go to check out the results of some of the creative juices flowing in China), who profile Kunming's very cool Dangsters dance crew.

Shanghaiist is impressed at the submarines and helicopters Sichuan's farmers have been known to invent when they get bored of transplanting rice.

A very useful tip from Laowai Chinese on how to find out the gender of the stranger who just emailed, SMSed, or QQed you (or how to remember if that student on your attendance sheet is a boy or a girl)--Chinese-Tools' Chinese Name Gender Guesser. With a 95 percent accuracy rate, according to Laowai Chinese's test.

A collection of fascinating photos showing the incredibly detailed preparations for the military parades planned for Oct. 1st on China Smack (can it go one week without a mention?).

Hungry for more about China's military parades? In one of many great posts this week, the team at the China Beat point readers to a wealth of background reading and watching to help you prepare for the Zhang Yimou-choreographed celebrations in Beijing.

Cfensi examines the (old) news that one of the three sections of "Chengdu, I Love You"--which closed out the Venice Film Festival yesterday--will be developed into a full-length feature film, leaving the "Chengdu, I Love You" with only two parts. One of these parts, by the way, was shot at last May's Zebra Music Festival in Chengdu. (Requires proxy).

A long and scary article looking at China's surrogate-mothers black market. Well worth a read despite the Chinglish-infused translation.

An eChinacities blogger discusses American bloggers' uneasiness with a Chinese advertisement offering student discounts on abortions.

Danwei translates some of the content from a creepy video-game-inspired spoof of an internet-addiction clinic. (Requires proxy).

Fran likes surfing the China blogosphere, and every Sunday she shares her picks of the week with GoKunming readers.

An attempt by Myanmar's ruling military junta to bring rebel ethnic fighters under its control has led to escalating tensions, reports of fighting and a looming specter of war, with thousands of refugees fleeing into southwestern Yunnan, according to a Reuters report.

China- and Thailand-based media outlets have reported that on August 8 the Myanmar army sent hundreds of troops to the region of Kokang in the country's northeastern Shan State. Kokong, which has held to a 20-year ceasefire with the Myanmar government in Yangon, is home to many ethnic Chinese as well as other ethnic groups.

According to statements released by a recently formed alliance of four area ethnic groups known as the Myanmar Peace and Democracy Front (MPDF), soldiers in Kokang are under pressure from Yangon to become part of a border security unit under the army's control in the runup to next year's national election, the first in 20 years.

Army troops have reportedly attacked a factory used by ethnic rebel soldiers to maintain and repair weapons, claiming that it was a production facility for illegal drugs. An armed standoff between army and ethnic fighters allegedly followed, sparking a flow of refugees out of Kokang into the western region of southwestern Yunnan's Lincang prefecture.

"Tensions are extremely high, with anticipation of resurgence of war, tens of thousands of ethnic people have fled," the MPDF statement said.

Next year's election in Myanmar will be the first since the 1990 election in which Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a clear victory, which was ruled null by the junta government. Would-be prime minister Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest shortly afterward and has spent most of the last two decades in the junta's custody.

Image: news.ifeng.com

Editor's note: Every week for the remainder of 2008 GoKunming will publish photos from the collection of Auguste François (1857-1935), who served as French consul in south China between 1896 and 1904, during which he spent several years in Kunming. The photos have been provided by Kunming resident and private collector Yin Xiaojun (殷晓俊). GoKunming thanks Yin Xiaojun for providing us a glimpse of Yunnan at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Year: 1902
Subject: First graduating class of Kunming's Wubei Xuetang (武备学堂)
Location: Present-day Jiangwutang (讲武堂), west side of Cuihu Park

Background:

The above photo is of 13 students from the first graduating class of the Wubei Xuetang (武备学堂), Kunming's first military academy, which was founded in 1899. The students, who completed three years of training, are centered around an unidentified teacher from the academy.

By the end of the 19th Century, a little over a decade before the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, Kunming had become more than just a place to exile disgraced officials, it had become a strategically important outpost at the crossroads of China, Tibet and Southeast Asia. Creating a strong local military force had become a necessity, prompting the establishment of the Wubei Xuetang on the west side of present-day Cuihu Park.

The curriculum at the Wubei Xuetang featured four main subjects: Chinese language, mathematics, cannons and the military drill book (操典). The drill book used at the academy was a book of German military drills.

Shortly after the demise of the Qing, a new military academy, the Jiangwutang (讲武堂 – see right image), was built where the Wubei Xuetang had once been located. Today, the Jiangwutang is still standing. A large mustard yellow building from another era, the building is one of the most recognizable architectural works in Kunming.

Within the Jiangwutang is a vast, flat courtyard that was once used for military drills. The building's south wing contains a free museum which narrates the role the academy has played in Kunming and Yunnan's history.