Armies of India, Thailand commence joint exercise in Meghalaya

The Indian Army and the Royal Thailand Army commenced a joint exercise at Umroi in Meghalaya on Monday, Defence officials said.

The aim of the exercise is joint training of troops in counter-terrorism operations in both jungle terrain and urban scenario, the official said.

He said 45 members of each of the Armies are taking part in the 14-day long 'Exercise Maitree' at the Joint Training Node at Umroi.

Exercise Maitree is an annual training event conducted alternatively in Thailand and India since 2006.

At the joint exercise, the two armies "will share their valuable experiences in the conduct of counter-terrorism operations in the form of lectures, drills, demonstrations and skill-atarm with an aim to refine tactics, techniques and procedures," Defense Spokesperson Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said.

The exercise will culminate with a 48-hour long execution of joint skills of soldiers of the two armies while conducting the operations.

Col Thiradej Limkunagul, who is leading the Royal Thai Army, said, "We hope to continue training for a long time. Both the Armies have a long history of training together since 2006.