First India-Japan joint military exercise concludes

KOLKATA: The first joint military exercise of Indian and Japanese armies concluded in Mizoram on Wednesday, a defence statement said. The two-week exercise 'Dharma Guardian 2018' commenced on November one at Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte with India describing it as a significant step towards fostering military and diplomatic ties between the two countries. Emphasis was laid on enhancing tactical skills to fight against global terrorism and on increasing inter-operability between forces of both countries, the statement said "The primary focus of the exercise was to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in urban and semi urban terrain," the statement said. The contingents honed their tactical and technical skills in a wide spectrum of counter-insurgency operations including joint training on weapons and equipment, field training exercise and handling of improved explosive devices, it said. (AGENCIES)