The eighth edition of India-Russia Joint Military Exercise INDRA-2016 has begun in the Ussiriysk District in Vladivostok, Russia. The joint exercise will focus on “Counter Terrorism Operations in semi-mountainous and jungle terrain under United Nations Mandate,” Sputnik news reported.

According to Sputnik news, the joint military exercise features 250 soldiers from the Indian Contingent and 250 soldiers from the 59th Motorized Infantry Brigade.

Recent developments in Indian-Russian relations have been centred around counter-terrorism, as it was also reported earlier this week that both countries are coming to a new agreement looking to upgrade the 1993 deal on the cooperation between the interior ministries of the two countries. In particular, the new agreement would give India real-time access to information from Russia on terrorism and cyber security, the sources familiar with the situation told the news outlet.

Some controversy within Indian and Russian media also occurred this week, when it was revealed that Russian troops will be in Pakistan for two weeks from September 24, to October 10, to take part in the two-week long military drills dubbed as “Friendship 2016.” The strategic move comes amidst increasing defence ties between Moscow and Islamabad as the latter was also considering purchasing advanced Russian warplanes.

The numerous maneuvers in the Russian front is part of Russia’s re-balance to Asia. Firstly, it is important for the Kremlin to secure a status as a regional power to benefit from the shift of economic power from the West to the East. Increased multilateral cooperations as well as military exercises of this form help embed Russia as an “Asian energy superpower,” as a research report from Lowy Institute has termed. Secondly, the Russian Government under Putin has been relying heavily on foreign policy gains as a way to underpin Putin’s internal political legitimacy, and thus the development has been important. Thirdly, the pivot in terms of US relations towards the East has also prompted Russia to exert itself more actively.

Such developments, from an international security standpoint, could threaten the peace and stability in Asia and the Pacific, as economic and political overtures from great powers like the US and Russia could translate into possible military conflicts in the near future, a result that goes against the grain of what our organisation is rooting for.

Sources:

//www.lowyinstitute.org/files/russia-asian-rebalance.pdf

https://sputniknews.com/military/20160923/1045636531/russia-india-indra-2016-joint-exercise.html

//indianexpress.com/article/world/world-news/no-joint-military-exercise-with-pakistan-in-pok-russia-clarifies-3047234/