Chinese Defence Minister to visit India later this year
New Delhi, July 5: Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe will visit India later this year as part of high-level military exchanges between the two countries in the spirit of Wuhan summit, it was announced on Thursday.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters here that there was evident improvement in the relationship between the two countries in view of the strategic guidance given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping following their informal Wuhan summit in April this year.
He was answering a query about the ongoing visit of a high-level Chinese army delegation to India following the Wuhan summit. It was first such visit after Doklam stand-off last year.
"The delegation visit was part of high-level ongoing military exchange and we do look forward to and encourage such exchanges including the visit by the Defence Minister of China to India later this year," he said.
The 10-member team of the People's Liberation Army, led by its senior commander Lt. General Liu Xiaowu, the Deputy Chief of its Western Theatre Command, is in India on a five-day visit till July 6.
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At least 2 dead and 12 missing after fishing boat sinks off South Korea's Jeju island
Seoul(AP): A fishing boat capsized and sank off the coast of South Korea's Jeju island Friday, leaving at least two people dead and 12 others unaccounted for, coast guard officials said.
Nearby fishing vessels managed to pull 15 crew members out of the water, but two of them were later pronounced dead after being brought to shore. The other 13 did not sustain life-threatening injuries, said Kim Han-na, an official at Jeju's coast guard.
She said 27 crew members – 16 South Korean nationals and 11 foreigners – were on the 129-ton boat, which left Jeju's Seogwipo port late Thursday to catch mackerel. The coast guard received a distress signal at around 4:30 a.m. Friday from a nearby fishing vessel that conducted rescue efforts as the boat sank 24 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of the island.
At least 11 vessels and nine aircraft from South Korea's coast guard, police, fire service and military were deployed as of Friday morning to search for survivors. They were being assisted by 13 civilian vessels.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for officials to mobilize all available resources to find and rescue the missing crew members, his office said.
