India-Japan to hold joint military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’ from October 19

Dharma Guardian, the joint military exercise between India and Japan, will be conducted at the Counter-Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School Vairengte in Mizoram from October 19 to November 2.

Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) contingents comprising 25 soldiers each will participate in the exercise with an aim to share experience gained during various counter-terrorism operations, the release said.

Exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’ is an annual training event which is being conducted in India since 2018, it said.

Notably, in the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with many countries, exercise Dharma Guardian with Japan is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both the nations in the backdrop of global terrorism, it said.

The scope of this exercise covers platoon level joint training on counter terrorism operations in jungle and urban scenario.

The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence co-operation between Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) which in turn will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations, it added.