The world’s two largest armies have begun their first-ever joint military exercises. Last Thursday, approximately 100 Indian troops arrived in the Chinese province of Yunnan to conduct anti-terrorism drills with the People’s Liberation Army of China. The joint training is to enhance trust and understanding between the Indian and Chinese militaries, according to a statement issued by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. The arriving Indian troops were greeted with chants of “India and China are brothers!” by gathered ranks of the Chinese Army.

Yet, India and China have not always felt like brothers. Relations between the two countries hit an all-time low during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. This war was fought between the two nations over the disputed Himalayan border and contributed vastly to the bilateral tensions between India and China.

The current military cooperation between these two Asian powers is seen as the most visible sign of their warming bilateral ties in recent years. Deputy Director of China’s Asian Affairs Bureau Wu Xiaoyi stated that China hopes that the Chinese and Indian militaries will cooperate together on a diversity of subjects in the future.

Delhi-based security analyst C. Uday Bhaskar commented, “What matters is how China wants to see India in the long run—as a worthy global power, or as an antagonist that must be mired in South Asia. In the past, China has leaned towards the latter approach; it has been arming Pakistan to bog India down. But the way things are evolving, particularly with continuing economic globalization, that may not continue to be the case.”

World globalization and the rise of the terrorist threat have made both India and China believe that they must cooperate both economically and militarily for the security of the region. Sino-Indian trade has increased from $3 billion to $13 billion over the last three years, and now the militaries of the two nations have taken their first step toward interoperability.

Plain Truth editor in chief Herbert W. Armstrong taught for years until his death in 1986 that biblical scriptures such as Ezekiel 38 and Revelation 9 reveal that a 200-million-man army would come out of Asia to fight against a coming United States of Europe. Today, tensions between Europe and Russia are building, and Russia is developing its relations with Asian nations such as India and China. The rising trend of cooperation between India and China is laying the foundation for future interoperability between the militaries of the world’s most populous nations.

Continue to watch as the military power of Asia rises. For more information on the role of India and China in a coming Asian alliance, read “What’s Ahead for India?”