Army chief to visit China

The Chief of Army staff General N C Vij will visit China on December 22 to further strengthen Sino-Indian ties.

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Vij, who is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart and the defence minister of the Communist giant, said he was hopeful the talks would help in giving further boost to bilateral ties.

He was talking to newspersons after laying the foundation stone of the proposed Rs 1.2 crore non-commissioned officers' training academy at Bengdubi, near Siliguri in West Bengal.

The academy, to be constructed over 795 acres within three years, would be the biggest of its kind in the world, and it would impart modern training to 1,200-2,000 non-commissioned officers each year, Vij said.

Responding to a question, Vij said there was no need to introduce a unified command in North Bengal as proposed for the North-East. However, the Army had no problem in joining the command if it was extended, he said.