Indo-Malaysian armies to train together for jungle combat

The Indian and Malaysian armies will participate in a two-week training exercise focusing on counter-terror operations in jungle terrains, as both countries face challenges when combating insurgencies in tough forest conditions.

The exercise will be held in Malaysia soon after the military drills carried out by China in the South China Sea last week, dubbed to be one of the biggest exercises by them in recent time in the disputed region. The exercise will be held in Sungai Perdik, Hulu Langat and Selangor.

Scheduled to be carried out in two phases, the Malaysian Army will have 113 personnel while the Indian contingent comprising 90 troops will be participating in the exercise.

"Training and exchanging ideas on search and destroy operations, ambush techniques, jungle survival and preparing against improvised explosive devices will be part of the exercise," said Army spokesman Colonel Amand Anand.

The final decision to go ahead with the exercise was taken two months ago in Kaula Lumpur.

Sources said an exercise between the two armies in Malaysia was agreed upon twice earlier too, but were later cancelled.

The last such Army exercise — Harimau Shakti — was held in Malaysia in 2012. This was the first such training programme between the two countries.