India invites Chinese delegation to Aero India air show

India has invited China to the 2013 Aero India air show in Bangalore in early February after tensions between the neighbours over disputed borders have eased and bilateral military relations improved.

Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne sent an invitation to his Chinese counterpart in early January, although R K Mathur, the MoD's secretary of defence production, told reporters in New Delhi on 21 January that the ministry had yet to receive a response from Beijing.

Industry sources said the MoD was adamant that a Chinese delegation attending the show would in no way be "embarrassed" by participating Taiwanese defence companies, and no Taiwanese flags or national anthem would be allowed at the venue.

Diplomatic sources told IHS Jane's that India anticipated a "senior" Chinese military delegation visiting Bangalore after the successful conclusion of the fifth bilateral Annual Defence Dialogue in Beijing on 14 January. The two-day deliberations between tri-service delegations headed by Indian Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma and Lieutenant General Qi Jianghuo, deputy chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army, confirmed the resumption later this year of joint military exercises that terminated acrimoniously in 2009.