Ladakh exercise: No move to provoke Pak, says Antony

Defence Minister A K Antony has said the ongoing Indo-UK anti-terror exercise—Himalayan Warrior—being conducted in the Ladakh region...

Defence Minister A K Antony has said the ongoing Indo-UK anti-terror exercise—Himalayan Warrior—being conducted in the Ladakh region is not aimed at provoking Pakistan and is a legitimate military activity. Troops are currently undergoing acclimatisation process prior to the high-altitude wargame.

Reacting to protests raised by Pakistan to the 25-day joint manoeuvres, Antony said similar activities had been on in the region for the past many years.

“None of our actions are aimed to provoke anyone, specially our neighbour Pakistan. We are exercising with forces of a country which is very friendly with Pakistan,” the minister told mediapersons at the sidelines of a book release function at the United Service Institution of India.

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Earlier, Pakistan had issued demarches to the UK and India and lodged a formal protest against the exercise saying it was “not a legitimate activity” due to the ‘disputed’ status of the region. Antony reminded that similar exercises had been on with other countries in the region for the past few years.

While this is the first exercise involving UK troops in the region, a Special Forces exercise with US troops was held in Ladakh in 2003.

Meanwhile, Antony said final dates and venue for the first-ever India-China army exercise would be finalised next month at the first meeting between armed forces personnel under the Defence Cooperation Agreement signed between the two countries.

“Official discussions will take place next month when a delegation from the Ministry of Defence visits China,” Antony said.