Beijing sources reported that Modi met Xi last week in an unprecedented two-day 'heart-to-heart' summit to "solidify" the India-China relationship. As per report "Leaders of the two nations have reportedly agreed to set up a hotline between their respective military headquarters". Meanwhile as per report the move comes after Modi and Xi agreed to issue "strategic guidance to their respective militaries to strengthen communication in order to build trust and mutual understanding and enhance predictability and effectiveness in the management of border affairs."
The ministry of External Affairs said "The two leaders further directed their militaries to earnestly implement various confidence-building measures (CBM) agreed upon between the two sides, including the principle of mutual and equal security, and strengthen existing institutional arrangements and information sharing mechanisms to prevent incidents in border regions".
Accordingly the hotline was regarded as a major CBM as it would enable
both the headquarters to intensify communication to avert tensions between
border patrols in the 3488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) and to avert
standoffs like Doklam. Moreover the BPM was the first such meeting after
the informal summit between Xi and Modi last week.
