Chaubattia (Uttarakhand) [India], March 9 (ANI): The seventh version of the India-Japan Joint Military Exercise Dharma Guardian 2026 was performed on the Foreign Training Node, Chaubattia, Uttarakhand, from February 24 to March 8.
The annual train, held alternately in India and Japan since 2018, is a vital aspect of India-Japan defence cooperation and assumes added significance in view of shared safety challenges and the evolving panorama of world terrorism.
The closing ceremony was held yesterday, marking the profitable fruits of intensive joint coaching between the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). The train strengthened the deepening strategic partnership between India and Japan and reaffirmed the shared dedication of each nations in direction of regional peace, stability, and enhanced defence cooperation.
Over the course of the train, troops from each armies skilled collectively to strengthen interoperability and improve joint operational functionality, with a deal with counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, city warfare, and fight drills in complicated terrain.
The coaching facilitated the trade of greatest practices, operational procedures, {and professional} expertise, whereas bettering bodily health, firing expertise, and fieldcraft. The train additionally fostered sturdy bonhomie via significant interplay and publicity to one another’s customs and traditions.
A key spotlight of Dharma Guardian 2026 was Exercise ASAHI SHAKTI, performed because the Validation Exercise to check the requirements achieved throughout joint coaching.
The validation part comprised a 48-hour area train based mostly on a simulated operational situation within the Chaubattia area, whereby joint forces performed operations in opposition to terrorists. The train included terrain evaluation, institution of a Company Operating Base, intelligence gathering via patrols and ambushes, execution of cordon and search operations, particular heliborne operations, room intervention, and hostage rescue drills.
Modern surveillance applied sciences, together with drones, had been employed to reinforce situational consciousness, coordination, and operational effectiveness.
The closing ceremony was attended by Major General Tsunehiro Yanagida, Vice Commanding General, 1st Division, JGSDF, and Major General Sudhanshu Sharma, SM, VSM, Chief of Staff, Headquarters 14 Corps, representing the Indian Army.
The profitable fruits of Exercise Dharma Guardian 2026 stands as a powerful testomony to the rising India-Japan defence partnership and the shared resolve to cooperate intently in addressing modern safety challenges. (ANI)