Pakistan protests India-Britain military exercise

[WebMaster]

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Pakistan protests India-Britain military exercise
5 hours ago

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistan said on Monday it had lodged protests with Britain and India over a joint military exercise in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

Britain's Royal Marines last week kicked off 25 days of joint high-altitude exercises with the Indian army in the northern Ladakh region, which is part of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan each hold part of Kashmir but lay claim to all of it. Kashmir has sparked two of their three wars since independence 60 years ago.

"We have sent demarches to both the British government and the Indian government," foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told a weekly briefing. A demarche is a formal diplomatic representation.

"This is not a legitimate activity because Jammu and Kashmir is internationally recognized disputed territory," she said, adding "More than anybody else the British should be aware of it."

Britain ruled the Indian subcontinent until 1947 when it was split into Hindu-majority India and mainly Muslim Pakistan. Many here still blame Britain for failing to resolve the Kashmir issue before leaving.

Pakistan last week protested to India over a plan to allow trekkers to visit the disputed 6,300-metre (20,800-feet) Siachen glacier in Kashmir, where thousands of troops from both countries are stationed.

Aslam stepped up criticism of the move on Monday, saying the Indian presence in Siachen violated a 1972 accord.

"The Indian military's aggression into Siachen, its presence there and any activity that it sponsors in this area is illegal," she said.

Pakistan would raise the issue during the next round of a slow moving peace process that the two countries launched in 2004, she said.

AFP: Pakistan protests India-Britain military exercise

[IceCold]

WebMaster i posted the kind of smiliar article on siachin thread, i thought it was better posted there then start a new thread for it, anyhow since you have kindly bring my post here too.

Regards
IceCold

[Always Neutral]

WebMaster i posted the kind of smiliar article on siachin thread, i thought it was better posted there then start a new thread for it, anyhow since you have kindly bring my post here too.

Regards
IceCold

Dear WebM and IC,

I think we should have a seperate thread. Siachen is India Pakistan relationship but Ladhak involves a different region and UK and China and ofcourse USA.

Regards

[Always Neutral]

[QUOTE=Joint exercises by Indian, U.S. troops in Ladakh

By Sandeep Dikshit



LEH SEPT. 12. Turning a new page in military ties, Indian and American commandos have started joint exercises in Ladakh, one of the highest reaches in the world. This is the first time India has opened this geographically strategic area to foreign troops. This is also the first time that American soldiers have got the opportunity to practice manoeuvres at such a high altitude where oxygen availability is less and endurance is at a premium.

Arriving secretively a week back, the U.S. commandos took three days to acclimatise themselves and get over the breathlessness that assails every newcomer to Ladakh. They have started with rock craft, the technique of climbing sheer rocky mountain faces with encouragement and assistance from the Indian Special Forces. Practicing different cliff assault techniques will follow this. It will be the turn of the U.S. troopers to lend a helping hand to their Indian counterparts in conducting surveillance and specialised area reconnaissance.

At the fag end of the three-week schedule ending September 25, the troopers will carry out high endurance 72-hour-long cliff assault techniques preceded by a three-day surveillance exercise. After a day of combat shooting and marksmanship in the rarefied atmosphere, the culmination will be a "friendship jump" from an Indian Air Force aircraft.

Codenamed `Balance Iroquois' by the U.S. and `Vajra Prahaar' by the Indians, the aim is to conduct joint training and multiple tactical exercises in high altitude areas to increase inter-operatability between Special Forces. "The U.S. does not have access to such high altitude areas,'' says Arvind Sharma, general officer commanding of the Leh-based 14 Corps. That is all the army is willing to tell.

But the geo-strategic importance of the area is evident from the fact that it is bounded on two sides by disputed borders with China and Pakistan.

Three decades ago, in the garb of a mountaineering expedition, an Indo-U.S. army team had installed a nuclear-powered listening equipment facing the Chinese side. It soon got washed away in an avalanche, never to be recovered again. "We don't think there is any cause for concern to China. This is the first exercise in this part of the world as far as I can recall. Our interaction will remain limited to this,'' Lt. Gen. Sharma told a visiting media team.

There is no word of the exact area where exercises are being conducted.

Locals can only speculate. For the cameras, a sprinkling of troops from both sides carried out rock climbing at a location where besides the army, personnel from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have practised for years. The army is unwilling to give details about the type of surveillance equipment being used.

While the army gave media access to the region's top official, the U.S. troopers are totally unforthcoming. ``It is great to be here. We are feeling good. That is all I can say,'' said an American trooper.

The exercises will once again expose the Indian Army to the equipment used by U.S. Special Forces and it plans to request the Government for some of these equipment for the para-commandoes.

"We would put in definitive recommendations for equipment for the Special Forces after the exercises are completed," says Lt. Gen. Sharma. Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared the procurement of specialised equipment including micro sub-machine guns and sophisticated silencer pistols for the Special Forces.

The CCS approval was based on recommendations sent by the army after it had conducted exercises with American troops.

One obvious fall-out of the joint exercises will be better equipment for the troops.

Another will be their ability to conduct actual combat operations alongside U.S. troops, but these are early days.

Any other intention can only remain a matter of speculation.=QUOTE]

just wondering why Pakistan did not threaten USA when they send their soldiers to Ladakh. Double standards ?

Best Regards

[IceCold]

just wondering why Pakistan did not threaten USA when they send their soldiers to Ladakh. Double standards ?

Best Regards

Pakistan did not threat even the british soilders, we protested. But i agree it should also have been done against US as well and no double standards should be shown here because it turns one's case weak. But politics and strategic patnerships sometimes plays a totally different game.

[WebMaster]

When did US conducted a military exercise in that region? Know that Foriegn Ministry has only stepped up in a few years to comment on such things which represent the official views of the government.

[Always Neutral]

Dear WM,
with due respect to you. The US Commandos conducted an exercises one year before we the Brits did, But Gen M and his regime never protested, Why this double standard?

[WebMaster]

Always Neutral,

I dont believe there are double standards. There is no normal connection of why it was not protested when US did and why there is a protest when British are doing it.

My simple guess ranges from Foriegn Affairs Ministry has stepped up its role or didn't care to comment when US exercised. Know that there is no such thing as "protest" here. It is only a term used to discribe the comments made by the Foriegn Ministry in the related matters.

[dk33]

Dear WM,
with due respect to you. The US Commandos conducted an exercises one year before we the Brits did, But Gen M and his regime never protested, Why this double standard?

Well at least we can talk about this on the appropriate thread. I am not sure what the point of repeatedly bringing up with respect to Siachin was. But any way, like I said before, this is the first I have heard of it. The few links to this that I could google showed the date as 2003, so are you sure that it was only a year ago?

Well better late than never. This was probably a result of the opening of Siachen to tourists. After all the publicity surrounding that issue, perhaps the GoP felt that it could not ignore the training in Laddakh anymore either. Perhaps we'll protest the US "training" in laddakh next year as well.

[Always Neutral]

Always Neutral,

I dont believe there are double standards. There is no normal connection of why it was not protested when US did and why there is a protest when British are doing it.

My simple guess ranges from Foriegn Affairs Ministry has stepped up its role or didn't care to comment when US exercised. Know that there is no such thing as "protest" here. It is only a term used to discribe the comments made by the Foriegn Ministry in the related matters.

Dear WM,

With due respect to you again. If the my Govt. did that (demarche) I as common citizen would send a notice to my MP and pay 12 GBP under RTI and get the answers. If you are a democracy and Gen M is legally elected, try asking him and the Govt why they did not protest US soldiers in Ladakh and why they are doing it with us Brits. I am really curious to know the answer. jana even suggested bombarding and killing a few of them.

Best Regards

[IceCold]

I am really curious to know the answer. jana even suggested bombarding and killing a few of them.

Best Regards

No way man! pakistan isnt gonna bomb british soilders, it will be a diplomatic sucide and even worst because Britain will in that case not just sit back and watch, but we may bomb the indians there as things have started to heat up with india.

[Marathaman]

No way man! pakistan isnt gonna bomb british soilders, it will be a diplomatic sucide and even worst because Britain will in that case not just sit back and watch, but we may bomb the indians there as things have started to heat up with india.

How exactly do you plan to carry out this bombardment? Apart from being completely outrageous and a declaration of open war, Britain won't be too happy seeing its exercises disrupted in this manner.

If you are dreaming of Pakistani bombers flying over Kashmir and bombing Ladakh...really....you've gotta have a second look at the map dude.

[IceCold]

How exactly do you plan to carry out this bombardment? Apart from being completely outrageous and a declaration of open war, Britain won't be too happy seeing its exercises disrupted in this manner.

If you are dreaming of Pakistani bombers flying over Kashmir and bombing Ladakh...really....you've gotta have a second look at the map dude.

Pakistan isnt going to let the are fall into indian lap that easy. And i said we may, not that we are, whether britain likes it or not, they are doing it on a disputed terrority and that is why pakistan launched a strong protest against it.

[Marathaman]

Pakistan isnt going to let the are fall into indian lap that easy. And i said we may, not that we are, whether britain likes it or not, they are doing it on a disputed terrority and that is why pakistan launched a strong protest against it.

Lol? It is already in the Indian lap buddy.

As far as India and Britain are concerned, it is not disputed. So protest all you want. Unless you conquer the area from India, you are not getting it.

[haviZsultan]

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Lol? It is already in the Indian lap buddy.

As far as India and Britain are concerned, it is not disputed. So protest all you want. Unless you conquer the area from India, you are not getting it.

You guys always seem to be so confident! In Indian lap... Woah! Is Ladakh some sort of Kitten or something which crawled into "Indias lap"? Well then its as likely to crawl out again unless you just keep holding on to it like a little girl holds on to its doll and does'nt want to let it go no matter what happens! Kashmir is a kitten too is'nt it! So India is holding on to 2 kittens at once while both want to get away? That does'nt look good for India... its too hard to hold on to 2 kittens that don't want you to hold on to them...

It is not disputed! I'd like to hear that again... dude ladakh is a part of Jammu and Kashmir... it remains a disputed territory and there are many people in Ladakh who want freedom... their culture is different from any culture in India and aren't the Shiahs present there who want freedom? And what about the bhuddists who find the bhuddist temples in China more appealing?

Is it a habit for you to write up some random stuff constantly?