BEIJING: China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) said on Thursday that its ties with the Indian military are "improving" with the strategic dialogue, practical cooperation and exchanges, "thanks" to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping .Providing an upbeat picture of the relations between the two militaries, which shared arduous and at times testing ties guarding the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC), defence spokesperson Col Wu Qian said the just concluded joint counter-terrorism drills in , and the two militaries have plans to conduct various exchanges and celebration activities," he said."We are willing to work together with the Indian side to follow the guidance of our heads of state and promote the military-to-military relationship continue to develop along the right track and make more contributions to the growth of the bilateral relations," he said.On December 21, the two sides concluded the 8th round of their Hand-in-Hand joint exercise focussing on counterterrorism joint training. The drills were successfully concluded in Shillong , Meghalaya drawing a "full circle" for the military engagements, Col Wu said."This joint training is to implement the consensus of the national and military leaders of the two countries and to strengthen the friendship of their troops and to promote regional peace and stability," he said."During the joint training, soldiers from the two sides had mixed team training exercises and exchanged experiences in counter terrorism operations, and humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief. They also had exchanges in culture, history, sports and culinary areas," he said."Through their joint training, the two sides improved their capabilities to jointly address security threats and conduct diversified military missions. The exercises and training showed determination of the two sides to fight terrorism and to protect stability in the region. It also helped to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation between the two militaries," he said.