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India Defence Online, New Delhi — The Indian Defence Ministry has given its approval for the participation of the Indian Army and the Indian Navy in the joint amphibious exercise at the US Marines base in Okinawa, Japan. While India had backed out for the same war-games at the last instance in 2009, officers from the Indian Army and Navy have been finalised this time around for the joint exercises scheduled later this week.
The joint amphibious wargames called Exercise Habu Nag is a bilateral exercise that focuses on operating skills based on exercise scenarios to gauge the theoretical ability of Indian and U.S. forces to jointly respond in critical situations. Exercise Habu Nag is an annual feature occurring since 2006. The exercise specialises in building skill sets to enable American and Indian interoperability on humanitarian aid and disaster response operations. The third Habu Nag exercise was successfully carried out between India and the US in September 2008 and it took place in Vishakapatnam in India.
This year, the Exercise Habu Nag will be held in Okinawa in Japan where the US has several military bases. Due to Okinawa Island’s proximity to China, there have been instances of increasing Chinese presence including the spotting of Chinese naval vessels near the island that has alarmed Japan. In fact, defence analysts feel that the issue of regional sensitivity had led to India’s denial in the participation of the joint exercises last year.
India is sending a 14-member delegation for the Habu Nag exercise that will consist of officers from the Indian Navy and Army. The Habu Nag exercises will begin by the end of the month and continue until mid-October. The participation of the Indian Army and Navy will boost the credibility of its forces since this unique operation involves enhanced capability not commonly found in other marine forces of the world. Both the participants create contingency plans based on different scenarios and conditions the forces may find in a real-world relief effort.
Indo-US joint military exercises have been on the rise just like Indo-US defence deals and more joint military exercises are planned in the near future, including one in Alaska next month and a Special Forces exercise in India. According to sources, a brigade-level exercise will take place in Alaska next month where 200 army personnel are expected to participate and a special forces exercise is being orchestrated at Belgaum in India.
Indian defence news and strategic intelligence
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