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India, Malaysia firm up army-related dialogue

SINGAPORE: India and Malaysia on Monday diversified their defence cooperation by firming up modalities for enhanced interaction between their armies.

The issues to be covered under the new mechanism of army-to-army staff talks, being launched this year, range from counter-terrorism and border management to peace-keeping operations and disaster management.

These and other aspects of military cooperation were discussed by Chief of Army Staff Deepak Kapoor and his Malaysian counterpart Mohammed Ismail in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Lieutenant General Kapoor also called on Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak.

Official sources said the army-to-army dialogue, sequel to a similar mechanism that was launched last year between the navies of Malaysia and India, would be followed by a framework for closer cooperation between their air forces later this year.

Intensified cooperation in areas such as counter-insurgency, maintenance and operational training in top-notch Su combat aircraft, and potential interactions on Scorpene submarines was discussed during Defence Minister A.K. Antony’s visit to Malaysia early this year. Training and professional exchanges, which too figured in his talks with Mr. Najib then, were discussed further during the ongoing three-day visit to Malaysia by Lt. Gen. Kapoor.

The Army Chief is on a “goodwill visit” to Malaysia, the first at his level in almost a decade.

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