In a sign of broadening of their defence cooperation, China and India are now considering holding a joint exercise between their air forces.
The two countries held their first-ever joint army exercise in a ground-breaking confidence building measure at Kunming in China's Yunnan province in December last year.
"We favour scaling up the military-to-military ties with India and as part of the efforts the two countries are holding talks for joint military exercise between the air forces," Chinese Defence Attache in New Delhi Li Chao told PTI.
The two armies will participate in their second joint military exercise on Indian soil this year.
If talks are successful, the Chinese official said the exercise between the two air forces could be held next year.
"Talks are going on and I think we will see a joint exercise between air forces of the two countries early next year," he said.
The Chinese official said military ties between India and China were growing 'step by step' which is a 'good sign' to improve stability and security in the region.
Noting that bilateral relations between India and China witnessed a significant improvement in last three years, Li said the joint military exercises will help armed forces of the two countries 'understand each other'.
He said the upcoming military exercise between Chinese People's Liberation Army and Indian Army in India will be 'much bigger' than the Kunming exercise.
Defence Minister A K Antony told the Rajya Sabha last Monday that India and China would hold their second joint army exercise in September-October this year on Indian soil.
"The exercise has given impetus to the ongoing confidence building measures between the two countries and is a positive step towards increased military-to-military interaction," Antony had said.
The Chinese official said he foresees more such military exercises in near future. The Kunming exercise was held in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding on Exchange and Cooperation in the field of defence, which India and China had signed in 2006.
India and China conducted their first ever joint military exercise code-named 'Hand-in-Hand 2007' at Kunming Military Academy and in a hilly terrain near Kunming from December 21 to 25 last with the spotlight on anti-terrorism drill.
As many as 103 personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and an equal number from People's Liberation Army took part in the ground-breaking exercise as part of confidence-building measures that upgraded the Sino-Indian military ties to a new high.
Last year, two ships of the Indian Navy made a port call at Qingdao and conducted a joint exercise with the PLA Navy, which was followed by the first-ever Annual Defence Dialogue in Beijing in November.
