Indo-US militaries gear up for Yudh Abhyas in September
Over 200 soldiers from the Indian Army's Gorkha rifles will participate in Yudh Abhyas, an annual joint Indo-US military exercise. This year's edition of the exercise will take place from September 14-27 at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in the US. The exercise comes months after the India-US-Japan Malabar naval exercise. Yudh Abhyas will take place amid the Doklam standoff between Indian and Chinese troops.
Trump greets Modi warmly, says India-US relations never been stronger
On June 27, PM Narendra Modi was greeted with a firm handshake and a broad smile by US President Donald Trump at the White House. Following his first meeting with Modi since becoming president, Trump said US-India ties have "never been stronger." Modi said America was India's "primary partner" in its socio-economic transformation. Both leader hugged each other after a joint press conference.
Exercise Malabar kicks off in the Bay of Bengal
On July 11, the naval forces of US and India and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Forces commenced the annual Malabar joint exercises in the Bay of Bengal. US Navy sources revealed that the exercise aimed at "tackling shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia-Pacific". Malabar 2017 was reportedly bigger than the previous editions.
What's planned for the 2017 Yudh Abhyas exercise
The Indian troops and their American counterparts will participate in the "battalion-level field training exercise with a brigade-level command post" which will be upgraded to "a more complex, combined arms, division-level exercise." "The exercise will further boost the interoperability between the two armies… It will also help the Indian Army understand the doctrines, battle drills and procedures of the US Army," an officer said.
India and US increase scope of bilateral military exercises
With an eye on China, India and the US have both increased the "scope, complexity and frequency of their bilateral military exercises as part of their strategic partnership and convergence," the Times of India has reported. However, India remains wary of forming a formal India-Japan-US trilateral or India-Japan-US-Australia quadrilateral security framework against China's increasing forays into the Asia-Pacific region.
Increasing strategic convergence between India and the US
"We see a growing convergence with India on our strategic outlook for the region, and we view India as an increasingly important regional security partner within and beyond the Indo-Asia-Pacific region," says a recent report by the US departments of defence and state.
