NEW DELHI: Shrugging aside recent troop incursions and face-offs along the Line of Actual Control, India and China are getting all set to resume their joint "Hand-in-Hand" (HiH) counterterrorism exercise towards end-2013 after a five-year hiatus.

Sources on Wednesday said a high-level delegation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will be visiting the Eastern Army Command at Kolkatta in end-August to "plan and discuss" the third edition of the HiH exercise in China in October-November this year.

The HiH exercises, the first two editions of which were held at Kunming (China) in 2007 and Belgaum in 2008, were frozen after diplomatic spats over visa and other issues in 2009-2010. Though largely symbolic with just around 100 to 150 soldiers from each side undertaking counter-terror drills, the exercise is seen as a major confidence-building measure between the world’s largest and second-largest armies ranged against each other along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The decision to hold the third round of the HiH exercise was firmed up during the visit of Antony, accompanied by a high-level delegation, to China earlier this month. India is keen to progressively enhance military ties with China, keep "communication channels open" and "eliminate potential" for Depsang-like incidents to reoccur.

Anotny recently described the 21-day face-off in April-May – the two rival armies had pitched tents and carried out banner drills after PLA troops intruded 19 km into Depsang valley in the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in Ladakh – as "an unusual" incident. The two sides will soon hold another round of the joint working group in Beijing to find a solution to prevent such "unpleasant incidents" and "embarrassing" face-offs, he said.