After US, Military Drill with Russia, China

NEW DELHI: With the world turning increasingly multi-polar, India is assiduously engaging with all the major players in the arena of military exercises. Just after its first tri-service war game with the US concluded last week, India is now all set to hold exercises with Russia and China almost simultaneously next month.

India is also clear it will not ignore its neighbourhood in this continuing thrust on “defence diplomacy”, lining up exercises with Nepal (Exercise Surya Kiran), Bangladesh (Sampriti), Sri Lanka (Mitra Shakti) and Myanmar (IMBEX) in the December-February time-frame.

“With nations grappling with global terrorism, piracy and gun-running on the high seas, violence by rebel militias and other such threats, the exercises serve to enhance military interoperability, strategic cooperation and confidence-building among nations,” said a senior defence official.
With China, of course, it’s more of confidence-building. Continuing with the resumption in military engagements after the freeze due to the Doklam troop face-off during June-August 2017, India and China will hold their eight “Hand-in-Hand” annual exercise at Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya from December 7 to 20. “Though just a company-level exercise, it is important to build trust between the two armies,” said an officer.

Exercises with the US and Russia are much bigger and complex. The amphibious “Tiger Triumph” tri-service exercise with the US was held off the Vishakhapatnam and Kakinada coasts from November 13 to 21.
This was only the second time India deployed assets and manpower from its Army, Navy and IAF together for an exercise with a foreign country, after the “Indra” war games with Russia at Vladivostok in 2017.

While “Tiger Triumph” largely focused on HADR (humanitarian relief and disaster relief) operations, the major tri-Service Indra exercise with Russia will be combat-oriented. To be conducted simultaneously at Babina, Pune, Gwalior and Goa from December 10 to 19, Indra exercise will witness Indian and Russian Special Forces, warships, mechanized forces, fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters taking part.
“With a joint operations center being established under a Major General at Babina, backed by a composite intelligence picture being generated by air and naval platforms, the exercise will focus on mechanized operations and counter-terror drills as well as prevention of arms smuggling through the sea route and neutralization of pirate ships,” said the officer.

India is the only country that holds exercises with all the P-5 countries (US, Russia, China, France and UK), apart from others like Australia, Japan, South Africa and Brazil as well as Asean countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
India and France, for instance, held the “Shakti” exercise between their armies at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in November, “Garuda” between air forces at Mont-de-Marsan in July and “Varuna” between the navies at Goa-Djibouti in May.

Source: TOI

Image Courtesy: The Statesman