The first China-India joint army drill scheduled for October will help increase mutual understanding and maintain a peaceful boundary, Chinese security experts have said.

About 100 Indian armymen will visit China in preparation for the joint exercise, Indian army chief General J.J. Singh has said.

General Singh agreed to the "engagement and mutual confidence building" during his visit to China in May, and hoped more such joint training exercises would be held.

"We had a small engagement - not an exercise but a mountaineering expedition - two years ago," Indian army spokesman Colonel S.K. Sakhuja has been quoted by AFP as saying.

In 2003, however, the two countries conducted a joint naval exercise in the East China Sea.

Highlighting the importance of joint army drills for maintaining a peaceful border, Wu Xiaoming, an expert on defense issues with the University of National Defense, has said: "China and India share a land border so army exercises are more practical than naval drills."

President Hu Jintao met Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 7 in Berlin and agreed to seek a resolution on the pending boundary issue.

"This exercise does not hold a high significance in terms of military communication because of its limited scale," says Hu Shisheng, a researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, who specializes in South Asian problems.

"But compared to diplomatic and economic activities, military exercises are of a higher level and can be seen as a symbol of friendly bilateral ties," Hu says. "It also offers a favorable atmosphere for solving the territory problem."

Source: China Daily