Putting aside the incessant brinkmanship over Arunachal Pradesh and visas, China and India are catapulting to the forefront of astronomy research with their decision to join up as partners in a Hawaii telescope that will be the world's largest when it's built later this decade.

Both countries will pay a share of the construction cost - expected to top US$1 billion - for the Thirty Metre Telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano. They will also have a share of the observation time.

It's the first advanced telescope in which either country has been a partner.