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Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 25
In what shows India’s diplomatic dexterity of having a parallel military relationship with the US and Russia, simultaneous military exercises are currently on with the two countries, which are not on the best of terms with each other.
The US has imposed sanctions on Russia and threatened to sanction countries that purchase military equipment from Moscow. Despite the US threat, India has gone ahead and signed a contract for the S-400 air-defence missiles from Moscow.
From December 10, India will conduct a two-week military exercise with China at Kunming in South-eastern China, becoming probably the only major country to have, in recent times, conducted joint military exercises with the US, Russia and China.
The US and China are on a confrontation path of their own over maritime rights in the contentious hydrocarbon rich South China Sea. The India-China exercise will be the first since the 73-day military standoff (June 16 to Aug 28, 2017) at Doklam.
The India-Russian and India-US exercises commenced almost simultaneously, on November 18 and November 19, respectively. The military exercise with the Russians called “Indra” is being conducted at Babina (near Jhansi in UP) the mandate is “combating insurgency under the aegis of United Nations (UN)”.
The one with the US is being conducted at the Mahajan firing ranges, near Bikaner (Rajasthan), around 600 km west of Babina.
The 11-day India-Russian exercise involves mechanised infantry. Both countries operate a common Infantry carrying vehicle (ICV) of Russian parentage. The aim of the exercise is to enhance interoperability of the two armies in peacekeeping and enforcement environment. It focuses on enhancing team building, special tactical-level operations such as cordon and search, house intervention, handling and neutralisation of improvised explosive devices.
The India-US exercise “Vajra Prahar” is about special forces—the teams that carry out covert operations. The Special Forces Group of the United States Pacific Command is here. The 12-day exercise focuses on joint training in semi-desert and rural terrain to enhance the interoperability. They will train on different aspects, including hostage rescue, building intervention, desert survival, medical aid and combat firing.
The US and India already have a sea-based exercise called “Malabar” and the annual “Yudh Abhyaas”—this time conducted in India in September. It had simulated a scenario where both nations work together in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism environment in mountainous terrain under the UN charter.
Indra, Vajra Prahar exercises underway
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