Indian Army’s Military Diplomacy to Get Training Push for More Foreign Cadets from Neighbourhood

The Indian Army’s military diplomacy took center at the Officer’s Training Academy (OTA) Gaya on Saturday with cadets from Bhutan and Vietnam passing out and the event witnessed by Vietnam Army Deputy Chief of Staff.

Training of foreign cadets has become a crucial aspect of having good ties with countries in the neighbourhood.

At OTA Gaya, cadets from Bhutan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Myanmar get trained along with the Indian cadets.

It’s noteworthy that the Buddhist influence in these countries and Gaya is a place of religious importance for Buddhist as Lord Buddha attained enlightenment here.

They spend their first year here and then move on to the engineering colleges like Indians for three years. After the passing out parade, they spend the fifth year in the engineering college specialising in their branch.

Since 2011 when OTA Gaya started, 71 cadets from countries like Vietnam, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar have been trained in the technical entry scheme to be warriors in their counties.

The bond is such that even the newly commissioned officers of the Bhutan Royal Army sang the Army song and the Indian national anthem with their brethren.

Four cadets got commissioned as officers of the Bhutanese Army on Saturday. While four Vietnamese were also part of the course they will get commissioned when they return to their country after spending five years in India.

“Training cadets from foreign countries gives us the opportunity to have better relations with friendly counties. It is a very important aspect of military diplomacy,” Lt Gen Sunil Srivastava, Commandant, OTA Gaya said.

The reviewing officer for the parade this year was Lt Gen Ngo Minh Tien, Deputy Chief General Staff, Vietnamese People’s Army.

Mai Phuong Vu, a 23-year-old cadet from Vietnam said it was a great opportunity for him to get technical knowledge and military training at the same time. “The standard of engineering is very high in India. I have spent four years here and we were treated just like any other cadet,” he said.

“We are excited to go back to our country and use the knowledge we have got here,” said 23-year-old Vietnamese cadet Pham Vietn An.

However, the military diplomacy in OTA Gaya that has the potential to be turned into a big center for military diplomacy with more counties in India’s neighbourhood because of the city’s religious significance to Buddhism might be short lived. There is a proposal to shut the academy and shift the technical entry scheme to Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

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Source: IT

Image Courtesy: Straits Times

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