Pokhran (Rajasthan): Foreign military observers are all praise for a war game the Indian armed forces conducted in this desert region, and hope for greater military-military ties between their countries and New Delhi.
“It was an admirable effort. We already knew India's armed forces are very
professional. The exercise has only reinforced this," Col. Yossi Turgeman,
the Israeli Military Attaché in India, told IANS at the conclusion of the
event at the sprawling Pokhran Field Firing Range (PFFR) on Wednesday.
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Turgeman was among the upwards of 100 observers from 59 countries who
attended the day-long "Brazen Chariots" drill jointly staged by the Indian
Army's Pune-based Southern Command and the Indian Air Force's
Gandhinagar-based South West Air Command.
“The exercise had focus on jointness, which is increasingly how wars will be
fought in the future,” Turgeman said.
He also termed as “very professional” the briefing he and the others
received from Maj Gen G P Kamath, General Officer Commanding of the
Indian Army's 12 Division that was at the forefront of the exercise.
He hoped that greater India-Israel cooperation would spread from the defence
sphere to other areas too. Israel has emerged as the second largest arms
supplier to India after Russia.
“Very speedy, very fast,” commented Brig Gen Ian Poulter, Chief of Staff
(Operations) of the Canadian Army who flew to India for the exercise. Asked
if there were any lessons to be learnt, he replied in the affirmative. “We are in Afghanistan (with the US-led coalition) and we operate in terrain
somewhat similar to this. It is in our interest to attend exercises like
this,” he added.
“It was a significant exposure for us since we are in Afghanistan and Iraq,"
added Col Paul Peterson of the Australian Army, who is attending a course
at the premier National Defence College (NDC). “It was an important exercise that was excellently organised. There was a lot of modern equipment on display,” he added.
Australia was among the five countries along with India, the US, Japan and
Singapore that participated in the Malabar naval exercise, the largest to be
held in the Bay of Bengal last month.
There has been a hiccup of sorts since then. The new Australian government
pulled out of a quadrilateral dialogue also involving India, the US and
Japan, fearing this would annoy China.
< “It was an excellent experience in the way the armed forces can work
together," said Captain Mohammad Anwar of the Bangladesh Navy, who is also
attending an NDC course in India. "India has tremendous capabilities.”
Brigadier Faisal Abdullah of the Kuwaiti Army, who too flew to India for the
exercise, reacted similarly: “It is fantastic. I have never seen anything
like this before... The Indian Army is very big.”
He also hoped for greater military-military cooperation between the two
countries, pointing out that Kuwaiti officers attended a variety of
defence-related courses in India.
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