ThePrint has learned that India and the US would collaborate for two weeks of high-altitude military training at Auli, Uttarakhand, which is less than 100 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Central Sector. This is happening amid rising tensions with China.
Yudh Abhyas, a joint exercise between India and the US, will mark its 15th anniversary this year.
According to sources in the defence and security establishment, a joint exercise involving the two armies would take place from October 14 to October 31 and involve “manoeuvres to utilise the entire extent” of high-altitude warfare. Additionally, sources claim that the exercise’s venue (at 10,000 feet) is in Stage 1 of acclimatisation for high altitude.
This time, the exercise is highly significant since the Indian side will present their high-altitude warfare tactics, and the Americans will present a variety of technology that may be applied in such circumstances. This exercise has been designed so that both parties can cooperate in any situation, a source added.
According to a different source, both sides have prepared a variety of activities to make the most of the two weeks of intense high altitude military training and test the soldiers’ ability to work as a team.
The Indian Air Force will also play a significant role in this iteration of the exercise, according to additional source information.
China and India tensions
Following the standoff in Ladakh, the LAC has seen increased tensions in the past two years, which has affected both China and India. In the meantime, the US and China have also been at odds over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Tuesday.
Indian and American armies will train together this year at altitudes between 9,000 and 10,000 feet to improve interoperability for high-altitude warfare, according to US Army Pacific Commanding General Charles Flynn, who called the Chinese military’s infrastructure build-up under its Western Theatre Command, which oversees India, “eye-opening and alarming.”
Flynn described the development of villages in Bhutan and along the LAC as “eye-opening” while speaking with a small group of media.
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