New Delhi, Sep 22 : A year after the Defence Ministry backed out of a military exercise at a US base near China at the last minute, a go-ahead has been given for a joint amphibious exercise at the US Marines base in Okinawa, Japan. The war game, which will involve senior officers of the Indian Navy and Army is scheduled to start later this week and will continue till October.
The same exercise, under the Habu Nag series of war games, was cancelled at the final stage in 2009 when 12 officers who had been earmarked were sent back to their formations days before they were scheduled to depart.
While no reason was given for the last minute pull-out, regional sensitivities were thought to be behind the move. Okinawa is located close to China and has a significant US presence where several military bases are concentrated.
The island has also been in the news recently for frequent spotting of Chinese naval vessels, including submarines by Japanese self-defence forces. A Japanese white paper on defence has also raised a red flag over the increasing operations by the Chinese Navy near the Okinawa island.
India is sending a 14-member delegation for the Habu Nag exercise that will consist of officers from the Indian Navy and Army. The exercise has been described as "very unique" by a US government official who said that there aren't many marine forces across the world that carry out such operations.
This also brings out the increasing military exercises that are being carried out by Indian forces with their US counterparts. A US official said that India is conducting more exercises with American forces than any other nation in the world. While a brigade-level exercise will take place in Alaska next month where 200 army personnel are expected to participate, a special forces exercise is already under way at Belgaum.
However, military relations with China have chilled after the recent denial of a visa to Northern Army Commander Lt Gen BS Jaswal who was to lead a military delegation to Beijing on the grounds that he commanded troops in a "disputed area". Sources say that it is too soon to comment on whether a joint exercise with the Chinese army scheduled for next year will go ahead following this.
Source: Indian Express
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