New Delhi (TIP)- In an act of balancing military ties between diverse partners, Indian troops will simultaneously kick off two separate military exercises — one in Alaska, US, and the other in Vladivostok, Russia. Both exercises begin on September 25. The one in Alaska is a bilateral exercise with the US, while the Vladivostok drill is being watched keenly — it is a multi-nation construct involving India, Russia and China, besides the 10-member ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The “Counter-terrorism field training exercise” in Russia comes under the aegis of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) and will take place from September 25 to 30. The Indian contingent leaves for Russia tomorrow. Sources say China, being part of ADMM-Plus, is also taking part in the exercise. Myanmar and Russia jointly head the experts working group (EWG) on counter-terrorism created by ADMM-plus. In August, a ‘tabletop exercise’ — euphemism for discussing tactics — was conducted in Myanmar.
Notably, the United States and its NATO allies are at loggerheads with Russia since the war with Ukraine. India and China are locked in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The ADMM-Plus was initially convened in Vietnam in 2010. It focuses on seven areas of practical cooperation — maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster management, peacekeeping operations, military medicine, humanitarian mine action and cybersecurity. The 19th edition of the ‘Yudh Abhyas 2023’ India-US bilateral exercise (September 25-October 10) in Alaska will see some 350 Indian troops participating. This will include all-ground operations.
The Indian Army posted on X: “Indian Army contingent will be participating in 19th edition of joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, United States. The exercise will entail exchanging best practices and enhancing interoperability to mutually learn from each other…”
Source: TNS