Border Personnel Meeting point

Border Personnel Meeting points are locations along the disputed Sino-Indian border where the armies of both countries hold ceremonial and practical meetings to resolve border issues and improve relations. While border meetings have been held since the 1990s, the first formal Border Personnel Meeting point was established in 2013. There are five meeting points, two in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, one in Sikkim, and two in Arunachal Pradesh.

The border between China and India is 3,488 kilometres (2,167 mi) in length and its exact location has never been formally defined and is thus vague and in dispute. Both governments patrol up to where they each believe the border lies. Indian and China began discussing the border in the 1980s.

To facilitate cooperation and peace at the disputed border through consultation and interaction, the armies of both countries, the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), hold meetings near the border called Border Personnel Meetings (BPMs). These meeting have been held since 1995.

There are two types of BPMs. A ceremonial BPM is used for cultural exchange to build friendship and otherwise improve to bilateral defense relations between the two armies. Ceremonial BPMs have been held on New Year's Day (January 1), India's Republic Day (January 26), Harvest Festival (April 14), May 15, PLA Day, which commemorates the establishment of the Chinese PLA (August 1), and Indian Independence Day (August 15). These meetings include the playing of each country's national anthem and saluting of their respective flags, and ceremonial addresses by representative of both armies.

A BPM Flag Meeting is a meeting between the armies "used to resolve local issues like patrols inadvertently crossing over and prevents flare-ups".

One aspect of an initiative of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to improve Indo-Chinese relations and reduce border tension was the creation of formal locations to hold Border Personnel Meetings. Border Personnel Meeting points were established after the signing of a Border Defense Cooperation Agreement in October 2013. The first three formal BPM Points were opened shortly after the agreement. Two additional locations were opened in 2015.

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Wikipedia