Armies of India and Japan to hold first ever joint exercise in Mizoram

Armies of India and Japan will hold their first ever joint exercise from November 1 at a jungle warfare school in Mizoram's Vairengte with a focus on strengthening counter-terror cooperation, officials said Thursday.

The focus of the two-week-long exercise 'Dharma Guardian" will be to increase interoperability between the two forces and enhance coordination in dealing with various security challenges, they said.

"Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well developed tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in urban warfare scenario," the Army said in a statement.

Security experts from both sides will also hold detailed discussions to share their views on various aspects of military operations as part of the exercise, it said.

The Indian contingent will be represented by 6/1 Gorkha Rifles while the Japanese contingent will be represented by 32 Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force.

"It will contribute immensely in developing mutual understanding and respect for each other's militaries and also facilitate tracking the worldwide phenomenon of terrorism," the statement said.

The Army also described the exercise as yet another step in deepening the bilateral strategic ties.