India kicks off first army drill with ASEAN

(THEJAKARTAPOST)ThelargestmultinationalmilitaryexerciseonIndiansoilinvolvingthe10-nationASEANgroupingandeightofitsdialoguepartners,amongthemIndia,startedWednesday,reflectingtheSouthAsiangiant'sincreasingfocusondeepeningdefensetieswithSoutheastAsia.

Morethan300soldiersaretakingpartintheseven-dayexercise,theaimofwhich,theIndianDefenseMinistrysaid,is"tolearnandsharebestpracticeswiththeotherarmiesoftheworld,anddisplaycommitmentforpeaceandstabilityintheregion".

Theforeigntroops,togetherwiththeIndianArmy,Wednesdaybegantraininginpeacekeepingandde-miningoperationsinthecityofPuneinwesternMaharashtrastate.

"Wearelookingatsituationswhereamultilateralforceisaskedtoclearminesinconflictareasaspartofdeminingoperations,"saidanofficialwhodidnotwanttobenamed.

ThethemeofthejointtrainingexerciseisHumanitarianMineActionandPeacekeepingOperations.

IndianPrimeMinisterNarendraModihasbeenlookingtoboostcooperationwithASEANcountriessincehetookofficeandhasevenchangedthenameofIndia'spolicyfrom"LookEast"to"ActEast".

Thepastyearhasseenaflurryofhigh-levelpoliticalengagementsbetweenIndiaandSoutheastAsia,includingVice-PresidentMohammadHamidAnsari'svisitstoBruneiandThailandlastmonth,andModi'svisittoSingaporelastyear.

Trade,themainstayofIndia-ASEANties,hitUS$76.6billionin2014/2015,withsecurityanddefensecooperationnowcomingintogreaterfocus.

ThecurrentexerciseistakingplaceundertheframeworkoftheASEANDefenseMinisters'MeetingPlus.

BesidesIndia,ASEAN'sotherdialoguepartnersinthisdrillareAustralia,China,Japan,NewZealand,Russia,SouthKoreaandtheUnitedStates.

ExpertssaidthattheexercisesignaledIndia'sinterestinpushingdefensecooperationwithASEAN.

"Thisexerciseismoreaboutdevelopingmutualunderstanding.Ifthereisanykindofchallengetomorrow...wecancooperatewitheachother.Thisexerciseismeanttofosterbetterties,"saidBrigadier(Retired)RumelDahiya,currentlydeputydirector-generalattheInstituteforDefenseStudiesandAnalyses.

"It[theexercise]ispartoftheActEastpolicybecausesecurity[inthepast]didnotgetthatkindofprominence,"hesaid.

ThemultinationalexercisealsocomesamideffortsbyIndiatobolsteritsmilitaryprofileintheregionasChinaincreasinglyflexesitsmilitarymuscle.

Lastmonth,Indiahelditsbiggest-evermaritimeexerciseaspartoftheInternationalFleetReviewthatsawparticipationfrom50countries.

Lastyear,itexpandedmaritimeexerciseswiththeUSintheIndianOceantopermanentlyincludeJapan.ItalsohelditsfirstexerciseinvolvingbordertroopswithChinainthenorthernstateofJammuandKashmir.

"IndiawantstoplayabiggerroleintheAsianstrategicsceneandismuchmoreproactive...andmilitaryexercisesareacriticalcomponent,"saidRajeswariRajagopalan,seniorfellowattheNewDelhi-basedObserverResearchFoundation.

"WeareonthewaytoplayingalargerroleinSoutheastAsiaandotherpartsofAsia,"shesaid.