General N.C. Vij is to visit China from December 22-29, becoming the first India army chief to do so in 10 years, the defense ministry said Saturday. Relations between the two countries have been marred by decades of distrust and each continues to claim large areas of the other's territory along their 4,000-kilometre border. The last Indian army chief to travel to China was General B.C. Joshi in July 1994. In the last year, the two countries have held a series of meetings to settle the border dispute. The border was never clearly demarcated. India alleges China illegally occupies 43,000 square kilometers of land in the Himalayan region of Kashmir. China lays claim to Arunachal Pradesh in the east.
