NEW DELHI: Despite the frequent incidents of face-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India Army and Chinese People’s Liberation Army(PLA) are all set to hold a joint ‘Hand-in-Hand’ Army exercise from November 16-25 in Pune that will focus on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism tactics.
This will be the fourth joint training exercise involving the two Armies. The war games between the world’s two biggest standing Armies will witness counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism manoeuvres under the UN mandate. “The aim of the joint training is to share the drills and practices learnt while tackling insurgency and terrorism, thereby promoting healthy military to military relations between the two Armies and developing joint strategies for conducting operations in a counter- terrorism environment. Forming part of the different levels of the military to military engagement across the entire spectrum of operations, this exercise will enrich the two contingents in further honing basic military skills,” the Army said.
Last year, an Indian military delegation comprising 160 infantry personnel from 16 Sikh Light Infantry had gone to Chengdu area of China for a joint exercise, which was held for over 10 days from November 4- 14.
Both countries had discontinued their joint military exercise after the controversy of denying visa to the Northern Army Commander Lt Gen B S Jaswal by China in 2010. And the last edition of exercise between the two Armies was held in Belgaum in 2008. The first edition of the exercise was held in Kunming in China in 2007.
The exercise is planned at the company level with respective Battalion Headquarters controlling the training. The training and manoeuvres, to be conducted at Aundh Military Cantonment and firing ranges in Pune are to be supervised by a Joint Directing Panel comprising senior officials of both the nations.