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India showcases military might to foreign observers
Pokhran (Rajasthan) | November 18, 2005 6:15:06 PM IST
Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday joined military officials from 40 countries, including China and the US, to watch Indian armed forces showcase their firepower and strike capabilities here.
It is the first time that India has invited military observers from foreign countries to witness one of its wargames.
Exercise Desert Strike in the deserts of Pokhran featured tank and artillery units of the army and frontline combat jets of the air force.
"It is a novel idea that observers have been invited to witness the exercise. The basic objective of India's foreign and security policy is based on two no's - no territorial ambition and no export of ideology," said the minister.
He added that the exercise would help foreigners "see the professionalism of our armed forces".
Senior Colonel Li Zhao of China spoke in fluent Hindi and said: "My impression is the armies of both countries are almost equal in terms of capabilities. The fact that we have been invited shows Indian and Chinese relations are becoming better.
"This will allow us to understand each other and cooperate," he said.
Pakistan, however, was not among the nations invited to send observers, with the top brass of the armed forces deciding to throw open the manoeuvres only to "friendly countries in the immediate and strategic neighbourhood".
Exercise Desert Strike, a 10-day exercise that began Nov 11, is meant to fine-tune doctrines for joint operations by a strike corps - or
almost 25,000 troops - of the Indian Army and combat squadrons of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
"The army and air force will test their new equipment, like the T-90 missile-firing tanks, Tungushka air defence systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and communication and surveillance equipment," Brigadier Gurpal Bal had told reporters in New Delhi Wednesday.
Bal and Group Captain B. Suresh of the air force said the exercise would prepare troops for fast-paced manoeuvres in the desert with electronic and information warfare playing a key role.
(IANS)
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India Holds War Games near Pakistan Border
By MANPREET ROMANA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, POKHRAN, India
India’s military Nov. 18 staged a grand finale to major military maneuvers, showcasing newly acquired T-90 battle tanks and warplanes close to the border with Pakistan in the Thar desert.
The Indian military said New Delhi gave advance notice of the 14-day exercises, code named “Operation Desert Strike,” to neighboring Pakistan in line with a pact between the nuclear-armed rivals, who are engaged in a slow-moving peace process to end their decades-old feud over Kashmir.
“Such exercises show our capability and ability,” said Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
He said, however, the war games were not designed to intimidate India’s neighbors.
“India does not have any territorial designs … all our capabilities are just aimed at protecting our interests,” Mukherjee said as supersonic jets dived in mock attacks.
Officials said the exercise was the
biggest since the 1987 Operation Brass Tacks in the desert state of Rajasthan, which sent tensions between India and Pakistan skyrocketing. The two countries have fought three wars, two over the Himalayan state of Kashmir.
Forty-two observers and diplomats from 30 countries, including Bangladesh, Britain, China, France and the United States, were at the war games in Pokhran.
“We welcome such observers,” the defense minister said.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. J.J. Singh said Beijing had invited New Delhi and Moscow to send observers to recent Chinese exercises. Ties between India and China, which fought a border war four decades ago, have warmed in recent years.
“Our men also went to China and so we invited them as we are just showing our capabilities and we hope there will be better cooperation in the future,” Singh, head of India’s 1.4-million strong Army, told reporters in Pokhran.
The latest exercises were staged in the vicinity of India’s nuclear testing site, where New Delhi stunned the world by carrying out nuclear tests in May 1998 that sparked tit-for-tat blasts by Pakistan days later.
The Nov. 18 finale came a day after the Indian Air Force wound up joint 12-day exercises with the U.S. Air Force in West Bengal state.
The Indian Air Force, the world’s fourth largest, said that in the Thar exercise it deployed its French-made Mirage-2000s, Russian MiG-27s and MiG-21s and British-designed Jaguar warplanes along with attack helicopters and drones.
“Forty percent of the participation in the exercises is by the Air Force,” said Indian Air Force spokesman Squadron Leader Mahesh Upasini.
The Army said some 20,000 troops, combat vehicles and artillery were also taking part in Operation Desert Strike, aimed at highlighting India’s military capability in a high-tech environment.
“The exercise is of great significance as joint operations have acquired strategic importance,” said a commander quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency, which did not disclose his name.
The Army said the two Gulf Wars were key examples of successful military campaigns in which action was initiated by air power and sustained by ground operations.
India deployed some of the 310 T-90 tanks it bought from Russia, its Cold War ally and biggest military supplier, for 105 million rupees ($2.44 million) each as part of a February 2001 deal.
“These machines are being put to extreme tests in extreme conditions of the Thar,” an armored corps commander said.
Russia supplies 70 percent of India’s military hardware.
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