After drill with Russia & Kazakhstan, Indian Army begins counter-terrorism exercise with Bangladesh

Indian and Bangladesh Army kicked-off "Exercise Sampriti" today, a counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism military exercise at the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School at Vairengte in Mizoram.

The Indian army is already involved in a fourteen-day joint military training exercise “Prabal Dostyk– 2017” with the Kazakhstan Army. 

India and Bangladesh Army will also take part in a joint military training on anti-terror operations to be held between November 13 to December 10 at Danapur Cantonment in Bihar.

This will be the third occasion in which the military forces of the two countries will be cooperating with each other. India had hosted the Bangladesh Army at Binnaguri in West Bengal two years ago, last year Bangladesh reciprocated by holding the joint military drill at Tangail in Dhaka.

"Exercise Sampriti" will continue until November 18.

Recently, nearly 400 personnel of the Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force had taken part in a joint military exercise with Kazakhstan's neighbour Russia at the 249th Combined Army Range Sergeevisky and in the Sea of Japan near Vladivostok between October 19th to October 29th. 

The India-Russia tri-services military operations called Excercise INDRA was represented by approximately 1,000 troops of the 5th Army, Marines and Ships of Pacific Fleet and aircraft from Eastern Military District.

India has been trying to win over allies in the Indian Ocean and in central Asia in a bid to keep China's military ambitions at bay. Indian authorities have been worried over Pakistan-China's "One Bridge, One Road" initiative which aims to extend China's influence, a move India has been trying to checkmate.

In July, India, Japan, and the US had conducted joint maritime exercise "Malabar" for the first time aimed at maintaining sea-lanes in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean region.